


Inked

by PointyObjects



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gratuitous Smut, Kagome with Tattoos, Light Dom/sub, Random References to Flowers, Romantical Smexytiems, Sango With Even More Tattoos, Sango is THIRSTY, Sexy Times, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, What Was I Thinking?, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2020-11-27 03:08:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20941274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PointyObjects/pseuds/PointyObjects
Summary: In which Kagome does not visit the florist for any reason other than to draw flowers, and Kouga absolutely doesn't wonder what she's (literally) hiding up her sleeve. Tattoo Shop/Flower Shop AU





	1. Chapter 1

"So...how's the boyfriend this morning?" 

Kagome dropped her bag on her desk and sighed in the direction of her friend. She wanted to ignore her; complain that it was too early to entertain such teasings, but she could not resist.

"I don't know, as I do not have one…" 

Sango shot her friend a knowing look and began tapping her long black nail on the tabletop in front of her.

"And I came here  _ first _ , so...I wouldn't know anyway." Kagome went back to arranging her station, even though she'd done so the night before. "Can you stop staring at me now?"

"Fine. We'll have it your way; how's your strictly platonic friend from whom you receive flowers on a regular basis?"

"It's not that  _ regular _ . And he's your friend too."

"Yet here I sit...sans bouquet." Sango's smile widened and the twin piercings on each side of her mouth slid over her teeth. Her grin was a stark contrast against the pale skin of her face and her deep black lipstick. Kagome thought about giving black lipstick a try again, but then remembered the jeers from her coworkers and taunts of "Baby Sango", before she put the idea to bed. It was bad enough they were the only two female artists in the shop; she didn't need to look as though she had no individuality at all. Besides, black lipstick always ended up on her teeth and she preferred lip gloss anyway. "As soon as they die, you get new ones."

"I'm trying to get better at photo realism, and I've had dozens of requests for flowers lately." Saying it outloud, as opposed to in her head made it sound more valid, and less like an excuse to go across the street once or twice or four times a week.

Kagome watched as Sango scratched at her arm, brushing the cacophony of images there. She wore two full sleeves, as well as a myriad of other tattoos, and Kagome would sometimes catch Sango cradling her own arms, as if holding something precious. “Of course, because there's no such thing as the internet, or search engines or reference photos. We must all visit the hot florist across the street to perfect our craft, how could I forget."

"You know I'm not good at drawing from photos-"

"Ha! You didn't deny that he's hot!"

Kagome felt her chest heat up. "I didn't...I... _ you _ said it!"

"He's not ugly."

"'Not ugly'?"

"It's how people in monogamous relationships refer to attractive people." 

"Well, ugly or not, that has nothing to do with why I go over there. We are just friends."

"That's so boring, I'm about to take up knitting," Sango said, flexing her fingers and making them crack. The action made the rest of the shop shudder, but it only served to make Kagome self conscious. She looked at her short fingernails, painted lavender and chipping (as opposed to Sango's shining, black 'talons', filed to a point that rivaled her tattooing needles), and couldn't help but compare herself to her friend. Sango was tall and imposing in head-to-toe leather, fully confident in her dark aesthetic to take on anyone who said otherwise. Next to her, Kagome felt childish; instead of Sango’s commanding black and grey ombre to her hair she went with black and pink. Today's sweater was light-purple, oversized, and covered in hearts. And because she suffered through heels the day before, she gave her feet a rest that day with high-top shoes in lavender. 

She somehow went from 'Baby Sango' to 'Infant Sango'. 

"Knitting can be fun," she pouted, sounding even more like a kid.

Sango looked at her wickedly before speaking. "I bet he's got a knot you can untie-"

Kagome dropped a roll of paper towels, and scrambled to pick them up. "Sango, that's so inappropriate!" She told her from the floor. 

"Oh dear, I forgot that the Boy Scouts were touring the shop today! We're adults who can have adult conversations about other adults in adult situations."

Kagome sighed, and she scratched her nose as a distraction. Sango offered to pierce it some weeks ago, but it still bothered her from time to time, particularly when Kouga was mentioned. "Maybe we can talk about something else?"

Her friend approached and lowered a camera in front of her face. It wasn’t exactly new, but Sango kept it around the shop in case someone did a piece that was particularly amazing, and it deserved a place of honor on the website. "Fine. I'm updating the website and I need new photos of the shop."

"Anything else?" Kagome asked, propping herself up on the seat of her chair. 

"Well, I was thinking the best view would be from across the street."

Her eyes narrowed, seeing the trap from afar. "Oh, really?" she asked, skeptically. 

Sango smiled again, trouble and mischief reflected in her eyes. "And while you're over there, pick up something to brighten up the place." Sango waved her hand around in a nondescript manner, and Kagome’s eyes followed, wondering what exactly she meant. 

"'Brighten up the place'? Why not just display Miroku's latest apology bouquet like you usually do?"

"He's been surprisingly well-behaved as of late.” Sango told her. “Besides those were mostly to help out Kou-"

"Help out?"

"He hasn't told you? I guess that would be some pretty depressing pillow talk-"

"Is Kouga in trouble?" Kagome interrupted, ignoring the direction of Sango's statement.

"All he's told me is that the shop isn't doing as well as it has. But, don't tell him I told you." Sango's eyes went wide, and Kagome remembered how she ran such a tight ship. 

"Of course not. I'm gonna go get those photos now."

* * *

"New job as the neighborhood paparazzi?"

Kouga watched as Kagome whirled to greet him, and he tried to keep his gaze at her face. Once she smiled, it was less difficult than he remembered. There was no way, he reasoned, that she knew just how cute she was, otherwise she wouldn't have wasted so much time hanging around him.

"Ink isn't cheap, ya know," she joked. "Um, Sango wanted some new photos of the shop, and it looks a little better from across the street. I can snap a few for you, if you want. You can update your website."

Kouga made a face and looked back at his brick and mortar shop. "I don't really have a website. Even if I did, I couldn't compete with all those flower websites, anyway."

"What about social media? Our walk-ins practically doubled after we got our Instantgram."

"...she told you, didn't she?"

Kagome blinked. "Who told me what?" She grinned at him again, though less sincerely this time. There was a hint of pity in her big, brown eyes and he found he didn't like the sight of it.

"Sango...that I'm...not doing great." He hated admitting it. Maybe if he was more proactive before, with a website and social media and all that, Lupus Blooms would be doing better than it was. He wouldn't have to count coins at the end of the night, desperately hoping someone would call or walk in for an order. 

"Not...in so many words. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry. Besides, I should be fine until the end of the year. After that, I might need to consider a move."

"To another shop?" Kagome asked innocently. Kouga tried no to, even in his mind, think of her as cute too often. He knew how much she hated it, but it was so accurate. 

"To another career." 

"_Oh_."

Kouga hated the look of realization and sadness that swept over her face, and wanted to take back his last statement if he could avoid making her feel badly. "Don't worry; I'll figure something out."

He watched her grope for her words, before starting. "I just...couldn't imagine looking across the street and not seeing you...r shop."

Without letting himself get hopeful, he told her, "Don't sweat it."

Kagome shrugged, and Kouga wished he hadn't let their conversation go down such a grim path. She looked away, as discomfited by the down-turn in their exchange as he. Kouga took advantage of the lull as an opportunity to more closely take in her attire for the day. It was always a fun distraction for him to see what color she would choose as a feature, amongst her sea of mostly black. It was almost as if she tried to be 'gothic' but liked the softness of pastels and cat-motifs too much to give it up. She seemed to have a penchant for purple, and today’s shade was as light as possible while still holding the hue of what he guessed was her favorite color. From under her large sweater, he could see the hem of a black skirt, leaving the rest of her legs, mostly exposed under opaque black tights. She was several inches shorter than he, but he still noticed the length of her legs anytime she was nearby. No matter the weather, she was always wearing dark or opaque tights, and Kouga wondered if the expanse of her thigh was anything compared to the rest of her skin. Without any knowledge to go on, he conjured for himself the softness of her skin, the feel of her hands closing over his, how her deceptively small hands would feel gliding over the planes of his body-

"Well,” she said cheerfully, breaking him out of his daydream. “I'm here to pick up something for the shop as well. To 'brighten it up', whatever that means.” Never were miniskirts so distracting until she moved in across the street. 

"I've got an arrangement of hydrangeas that a bride was supposed to pick up yesterday. Not sure why they didn't make it down the aisle, but you're welcome to them." She followed him into the shop without another word, and Kouga lifted a few bundles of nearly-white hydrangeas out of a bucket of water. 

"Why do hydrangeas remind me of popcorn?" Kagome asked, running a hand delicately over the pale yellow blooms. 

"Did you skip lunch?" he joked.

"Not today...come on, you know you see it too." Kagome leaned over the counter and tilted her head. 

"I can't remember the last time I had popcorn…" Kouga said, trying not to examine her too closely. Their usual exchanges were from behind the counter, or occasionally when she'd walk the aisles of the shop with him. Physical contact only happened a few times (not for lack of trying on his part), and having her so close was chipping at his self-control. He could at least put to rest one mystery that she left him with: up close she smelled amazing. Better than irises, lilies and gerber daisies combined.

"It was my favorite snack as a kid. My family would go to the carnival and get the saltiest, sweetest snacks you could imagine."

Kouga broke out into a grin. Kagome began working across the street six months prior, and he was seriously contemplating just getting a tattoo so he could talk to her for more than a few minutes a day. Learning about her only in little snippets was annoying, but rewarding. "The next time the fair is in town, I'll get you an extra large bag."

Kagome's eyes went wide, and her brow furrowed. Kouga worried that he said something wrong, but wasn't fully aware of what he said to know how to remedy it, if he did. 

"I think I have an idea..." Kagome said, looking around the room, quickly. Kouga wanted to follow her train of thought, but could already tell that she was moving miles a minute, and his chances of catching up were slim to none. 

"An idea for what? Popcorn?"

"No, its...I have to go sketch...and take notes. I'll see you later!" she said quickly, leaving a handful of bills , much more than the hydrangeas were worth, on the counter, grabbing the vase from him, and rushing out of the door. The bell over the door jingled at her exit, and Kouga watched until she made it safely across the street, before laughing to himself.

* * *

"I have an idea!"

Had he not known who was approaching him from behind, under a blinking streetlight, as he locked up his shop, his first response would have been much more forceful. It happened only one before, and the would-be assailant ended up on the ground with Kouga growling angrily over him. 

Seeing as it was Kagome behind him, clearly out of breath and panting, he figured that Kagome looking up at him would produce a very different kind of growl. 

"Yeah, you said that about seven hours ago, and then you ran away from me,” he said, feigning dejection. He turned to look at her, and found that if she was cute before, she was breathtaking now. Her hair, dar black at the roots and turning pink at the ends, was in disarray, and she was steadily trying to catch her breath. Kouga ignored the direction of an out-of-breath Kagome in any fashion other than sprinting a few yards to talk to him, and took in the notebook and papers in her hands. Chuckling at her choice of stationary, he couldn’t help but notice that her notebook was very her: pink and purple swirls behind the silohuette of a black cat with green eyes. 

"Sorry,” she said, brushing hair out of her face. One lock was especially unruly, and kept finding its way to dangle over her eyes and in front of her nose. Without thinking, Kouga stepped forward and brushed it behind her ear. Once secured, he lingered only a moment, realizing that she was no longer struggling to catch her breath, but had stopped breathing altogether. For the sake of both of them, he withdrew his hand and stepped back.

“I’m sorry-”

“No, it’s okay-”

“You were saying?”

“Oh yeah, I...I have an idea to help you out..." Kagome started fumbling with her papers and her notebook. Each sheet of paper was covered with notes in varying colors, presumably that meant different things, and Kouga was overwhelmed with the amount of work she clearly spent on this. 

"Kagome, you didn’t have to do that,” he told her, stepping forward again to help her organize her chaos. 

Ignoring him, Kagome kept speaking, finally pulling a sketch of their street out from her notebook. He could tell that each building and business was represented accurately, with notes and arrows in between her drawings. "It's a community fair...like a block party for all the businesses on our...block. I was thinking we could have raffles and music and food and-"

"I don't know." Kouga was in the good graces of everyone on the block; they all recognized the need to keep small businesses thriving, and were willing to support each other. But, no one had planned anything like this since he’d been there. Every now and then there were grand openings or private events, but nothing at that scale. 

"What have you got to lose? You're not the only business on this block whose struggling,” Kagome told him. She bit at her top lip and offered a negotiation. "If I can get eight other businesses to sign up, will you?"

Kouga sighed. She wasn’t wrong. He definitely needed the help, and so did a few other businesses. The foot traffic might bring in more people, and more people meant more business. And with enough business, he could keep his shop running, and continue his languid pursuit of the tattoo artist from across the street. "Sure."

Kagome flailed and smiled wider than he’d ever seen. "That makes me so happy.” Without giving him a chance to explain, she was already, flipping through her pages again. “Okay, I need to go home and make some phone calls. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."For the second time that day, Kouga watched her proceed across the street, and waved back when she made it to her car. He waited until she’d driven away to begin his walk home, only a few blocks from his shop. As he walked he contemplated Kagome’s plan and whether or not it would work. She seemed the optimistic sort, and if she could manage to pair soft pink with combat boots, while stabbing grown men with needles on a daily basis, he figured she could plan a little community block party. His thinking eventually drifted to their first meeting, and how timid he was back then, even more so than now. 

_ In his defense, he tried not to watch her. He tried really, really hard.  _

_ But business was slow; slower than usual, and there was a startling lack of people wandering by outside. The sky was overcast, driving pedestrians indoors, and Kouga guessed he would be closing up early. But, now he had a customer, and any thoughts of heading home early were gone. _

_ She'd been in twice before, not that he was tracking her. The tattoo shop had been across the street for years, and while their client crossover wasn't large by any means, occasionally someone would need a bouquet or two to make it through a particularly painful session. The neighborhood was small and relatively close knit, so, if nothing else, Kouga could expect a wave or greeting from across the street when he passed by.  _

_ The newest artist to the Feudal Ink was particularly friendly. He noticed that she waved to every shop owner who caught her eye, and he made sure to catch hers as often as possible without looking like a creep. Thankfully, he'd ordered several hibiscus shrubs, and kept them just outside of the flower shop's glass doors. They were recognizable and popular, causing passersby to stop and admire them, not to mention being the thirstiest of his plants that year, they got a healthy dose of water every morning. Should Kouga be watering his plants at the same time that the newest tattoo artist waa coming in to work...well, that was just a happy coincidence. _

_ She'd only been in the shop for a few minutes, and despite the customary greeting of welcome and a general offer of assistance, they hadn't spoken much. Kouga pretended to be making a list of vague importance from behind the counter, as she wandered through the aisles, brushing her hands over leaves and inspecting the premade bouquets with earnest. Of course she was beautiful and he wanted to talk to her, but he also didn't want to scare her straight out of his shop. Aside from their difference in height, she and the only other female tattoo artist of the establishment, Sango, could have passed as family, if not siblings. Sango was often receiving arrangements, seemingly from the same individual, and almost always ordered over the phone and with a note of apology. During a delivery one day, Kouga asked if he was unwittingly coming to the aide of a pesky stalker and wanted to know if he should stop taking his calls, and effectively, his money. Sango waved a hand nonchalantly in his direction (nearly skewering him with her nail) and mentioned that her on again, off again significant other had a penchant for saying/doing things before thinking and she was all too happy to help out a fellow small business, and teach her boyfriend a lesson at the same time. He took the opportunity to ask after their newest artist (in the most casual way that he knew how), but Sango saw right through his facade and gave out the details she felt were pertinent, without betraying the trust of her friend.  _

_ Her name was Kagome, she’d been tattooing only a few years, and was still in her apprenticeship. Despite her lack of experience, she was skilled at black and grey portraits, and was proving an asset to the shop, trying to soak up anything she could that would make her a good artist. Sango was unsure of Kagome’s relationship status, and admitted she wasn’t sure if she’d reveal it, even if she did know. Kouga was one of the nicest guys that she knew, and she didn’t want their opinion of the other colored by her regard for them both.  _

_ In his musings, Kouga lost sight of his lone customer and was startled when she appeared before him.  _

_ “Can I buy some flowers?” she asked, bouncing on her heels and smiling.  _

_ After years across the street from a tattoo shop, Kouga learned not to judge tattoo artists or the recipients of their art. His parents and friends initially worried about the threat of biker gangs, and muscle-bound men with skulls scrawled over their faces, but he knew better. Still, Kagome’s stature and demeanor threw him off. She was a head shorter than him, if not more, and her smiling face was surrounded by a mass of thick, dark hair, the ends dipped in pink. His first glance at her was quick and discerning; he didn’t want to look like he was sizing her up before formally introducing himself. Even so, he spotted the ink that peeked out from under her sleeve and on her neck from behind her mass of hair, and wanted to know what they looked like. _

_ “Sure,” he responded, scanning the countertop for her finds, before she gestured behind him. Against the wall behind the cash register were hanging pots of water, each filled to different amounts with various cut flowers, arranged by color. He smiled at his awkwardness and grabbed for a plastic cone to gather her purchase.  _

_ “I’ll take…” she began, her brown eyes moving up and down the rows of flowers, as she rested her elbows on and leaned over the counter. “That really bright, pink one? Is that a lily?” _

_ “Yeah. A Stargazer,” Kouga answered, his throat bobbing as he dipped in the water to fish out a stalk for her. _

_ “Pretty. How about that white one…” she said, gesturing with a short black nail over his shoulder. “What are they?”  _

_ “These are garden variety hydrangeas.” _

_ “And can I have a couple of those hibiscus flowers from outside too?" _

_ "Sure," he said, escorting her outside. She pointed to the blooms she wanted and once back inside, he began to total her purchase. "This is an...interesting bouquet you're putting together." _

_ "Well, it's not quite a bouquet. I work across the street, and I'm trying to get better at drawing flowers…" she said, trailing off. _

_ "Don't be embarrassed...I stare at these guys all day, and I probably couldn't draw them to save my life." _

_ "I don't believe that," Kagome said skeptically, as she paid for her flowers. _

_ To prove his point, Kouga printed her receipt and turned it over. On the back, he drew a crude daisy, complete with wiggly lines and a lackluster leaf off to the side. _

_ "I think that's a perfectly decent...daisy?" Kagome asked him, smiling. _

_ He slid the receipt across the counter to her, and noticed that she didn’t immediately crumple it, as most were likely to do. "Something tells me yours would be much better…"  _

_ "I guess you'll have to see." _

_ "Maybe you could sketch something and bring it by. When you're not busy." _

_ Kouga watched as she pretended to weigh the idea in her mind. "I could do that. Thanks for my flowers…" _

_ "Kouga," he finished, stretching out his hand across the counter. _

_ "Kagome," she said, smiling back. She left the shop , ringing the bell over the door as she departed.  _

_ Kouga found himself repeating the name to himself while pruning roses, and while refilling the ice trays for the orchids. Later, when the sun set and the shop needed a good sweeping, her name fell from his lips again.  _

_ ‘Kagome…’ _

* * *

“‘Kagome!” Kouga shouted, probably louder than he intended. Whilethey interacted at some point every morning, he was clearly surprised to see her at the top of the street, and not at the end of the cul-de-sac, where the tattoo shop and flower shop sat. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting to see you...here.”

Kagome began to rethink her plan. She didn’t want to take up too much of his time, but she wanted to keep him updated on what she got around to doing the night before. It was surprisingly easy to find businesses willing to sign up, and the few who didn’t said that they would at least think about it and get back to her, or contribute in some other fashion to the event. 

“I noticed that you come from this way, and I thought I’d...meet you early,” she said, kicking herself for being so honest. A dozen lies popped into her head as she finished speaking, and Kagome wondered why she couldn’t have gone with one of those instead of the truth. Now he was sure to think she was a stalker, or at least a bit nutty. 

“Yeah, I live a few blocks that way,” he began, gesturing behind him. “If you ever need a break from your needles and ink, and don’t want to put up with the smell of my shop, you can go over and...crash.”

“I like how your shop smells,” Kagome said quietly. Outside she was smiling, but inwardly she was cringing. Everything that came out of her mouth was spontaneous and honest but also weird and kind of made her want to run in the other direction. She scratched at her nose ring and continued on with the initial reason for her awkward encounter. "So, I don’t know how I managed it, but...I did it! I got eight businesses to sign up for the block party…" She restrained herself from pausing in their stride to do a happy dance, and with good reason. Kouga looked anything but enthused at her news, and doubt began to creep into her mind, between the cracks of her excitement.

"I really appreciate what you're doing, but-"

"I'm just trying to help." Kagome tried not to look too dejected, but knew she was failing. Sango always told her she wore too many of her emotions on her face.

"I know…"

Kagome sighed and smiled to cover her blossoming disappointment. Kouga never actually asked for her help, and while her intentions were in the right place, she recognized that she could be a bit pushy. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressured you to participate in this."

"No, it's a great idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mrs. Strand from The Knitting Barn wants to donate some scarves as door prizes. I just don’t want to be the person to tell her it's summer." They’d arrived at Lupus Blooms,and Kouga turned to unlock the door. The bell over them jingled, and Kagome stepped in as he held the door for her. She scooted by, unintentionally brushing past him as she walked in. Immediately, heat rushed to her neck and chest, and Kagome took a few shallow breaths to calm herself down. Doing that, however, brought to her senses fresh cut blooms, fragrant flowers and the slight must of rich dirt from the planter scattered about the shop; all smells that reminded her of the reason why her head was feeling so light all of a sudden. 

"I think she knows." Kagome worried at her lip and looked at her feet. “It sure is warm in here!” Kagome told him, too enthusiastically. She watched as his face dropped slightly, and he excused himself to run into his back room. Kagome had never been back there, and often wondered what he was growing out of sight. Before she could wonder too long, he came back out, looking more than relieved. 

“Sorry, I was making sure the air conditioning didn’t shut off and ruin some hostas I’ve got back there.bThey don’t mind the cold, but they don’t do well at all in the heat, and if it gets above 78 degrees-what?”

“It’s nothing,” Kagome said, wondering how she could make a quick exit and spend the rest of the day (or decade) replaying this conversation in her head and fixing every misstep. She brought her thoughts back to the matter at hand. "It's entirely up to you. Don't feel bad if you don't want to have a part in the block party."

Kouga brought a hand to the back of his neck, either scratching an itch or massaging a sore muscle. Kagome's gaze was diverted to the large expanse of tanned, empty skin of his upper arm. In the months that they knew each other, she would occasionally find reason to run her hand over his biceps; commenting that he should put something there, but her suggestions were always dismissed with a laugh. Now, she couldn't imagine a single image or word she could add to such a perfect stretch of flesh. She watched as his arm flexed, and a particular bulge of muscle pressed against his skin-

"I'm in. Tell me what I need to do."

"Me," Kagome answered too quickly, catching her breath as she realized what she said, outloud. "I mean, me...I...I'm...I have everything handled. Well, mostly. Um, you just...just let me handle it." Sango was not going to let her live this down. She would be haunted by it for the remainder of her days. "Oh, what do you want to raffle off?"

"Raffle off?" Kouga asked, seeming to have missed her almost-heart attack. 

"Yeah; I was thinking that everyone who attends the block party can buy raffle tickets and each business will give away something to different patrons. Mr. Capri at the bakery, for example, is giving away a dozen cookies.” she told him, consulting her list. 

"So I should bribe people with...cookies?"

"It's not bribery. It's an incentive for people to visit once at the block party, and then come back again. What's something people typically come in here for?"

"Directions to the mall."

"I'm being serious."

"Okay, okay,” Kouga began, holding up his hands. “Everybody likes roses."

"So a dozen roses? Sounds good." Kagome scrawled his name on her list next to his raffle prize, and reminded herself to write it a little neater, and in a prettier color when she got back to the shop. "And the massage parlor is raffling off a couples massage, the jewelry store has an earring and necklace set and the nail salon has a couples mani/pedi session. You know what that means."

Kouga blinked. "I actually don't. "

Kagome huffed. "That means someone is going to drag their significant other to this block party and have them sign up for every raffle in hopes of winning a hot date. Or a manicure. Or a bouquet of roses."

"Wishful thinking?"

"Shop owners can't participate in the raffle. If I want a couples massage, it seems as though I will have to buy one myself."

"I'm sure this block party will change that."

Dropping her lists on the counter, Kagome laughed. Despite her attraction to him, Kagome had to admit that she didn’t know a lot about him. Anytime they hung out, it was in a group setting; Sango was always inviting him along with their mutual friends, but those occasions were not really conducive to getting to know someone one-on-one. She preferred to know a person well before engaging in anything as serious as couples’ massage. "I'll keep my eyes peeled at the party for anyone looking particularly lonely." 

She couldn’t read the chuckle that Kouga let escape, and was a little saddened when he spoke again, completely changing the subject. "Need anything else?"

Kagome shook her head. She guessed that he was ready to be free of her company. "No, I'm going to spend the rest of the day calling food vendors, looking for tent rentals and figuring out how to close the street for a day."

"I can help if you want. I have some event planning...connections."

"Really? That would be a huge help."

"Yeah? Here, let me text her right now," he said, extracting his phone from his back pocket, and turning away to begin typing on his phone. 

_ Her? _ Kagome righted her brow and tried not to look dejected. She didn’t want to be jealous, and realized that she had no right to be. She turned as well, looking out of the glass doors to her shop across the street. Sango was just opening up, and before she could turn away, the two locked eyes from across the street. Sango smiled knowingly, nodding her approval at Kagome being in the shop first thing in the morning. Her nod slowly turned into a slow-motion body roll, made more awkward by the fact that she was A) standing in front of her own business, and B) wearing a fair amount of chain, and no doubt making enough noise to attract all of the neighborhood cats. When her gyrating gew more crude, complete with mouthing “Yes!” and whipping her dark grey hair around in feigned orgasm, Kagome turned around, hoping that Sango would stop soon. Kouga turned soon after, and much to her chagrin, looked over Kagome’s head and across the street.

“Is she...okay?” he asked, never taking his eyes off the sight from across the street. 

“Uh, yeah...she’s...taking an interpretive dance class at the Y. Sometimes, she...practices. Right out in the street,”Kagome lied. Sango finally stopped, and without a hint of embarrassment, waved with her free hand, unlocked the door, and disappeared into her shop.

“Hmm. Okay, then.” Kouga replied, and if he were confused at all, Kagome couldn’t see it. "I’ll drop by if I hear anything. And remind me to set aside a few roses for you,” he offered.

Kagome fought the wrinkle of her nose, and smiled, though not quickly enough. "Mmm…thanks."

"What's wrong with roses?" Kouga asked, and Kagome felt she may as well have insulted one of his children. 

"Nothing, it’s just...they're a little generic? I don't know, they're fine. But they're not my favorites,” she said with a shrug. 

"What are your favorites?"

"You'll just have to find out like everybody else…"

Kagome walked across the street as calmly as she could, telling herself not to look back. Even so, one across the street and at the door of Feudal Ink, she turned to open the door,and was pleased to find Kouga in his own doorway, waving at her. 

  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter Two

Inked

Chapter Two

* * *

“You can head home if you want to…” Kagome said, around the pen in her mouth. 

“You do know that you’ve said that about…” Kouga began, checking his watch. “Seven times in the last hour?"

Kagome finally looked away from her pile of papers and notes. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to stay here all night with me. I can be a bit of a perfectionist about this stuff.”

“That’s not a bad thing. And I don’t mind helping as long as you need me. You are kind of saving my business, after all.”

“You mean _ if _ this works…”

“It’ll work,”he told her with a definitive nod toward her, leaving her a little breathless, even though she hadn't moved from her appt in hours.

“If you say so.” Kagome exhaled, half from exhaustion, and the other half because it was easier to focus when she _ wasn't _ looking at him. She pushed her work away from her. “Do you mind walking the block with me one more time? Then I can go home and agonize from there.”

Kouga smiled and stood. “Sure.” He didn't sound like he was patronizing her, so she didn't take it as such. 

Kagome followed him out of the shop, and turned off the lights as they left. Sango had left her the spare keys to lock up when she was done. She’d only meant to stay for another hour, checking in with vendors and finishing up her own booth. But as the sun dipped below the horizon, the singular light in the tattoo shop stood out like a beacon, and when Kouga knocked on the glass of the tattoo shop’s entrance, Kagome was more than welcome for the company. In the two weeks that it took to procure food vendors, hire a small local band, and find overnight security for the rented tents, she’d managed not to say anything too stupid in front of Kouga, mostly because she was simply too busy. Still she had to curb her thoughts when he was around. She was clearly too expressive and quick to blush, and doing so in front of Kouga was likely to give her an aneurysm. 

Sango, on the other hand, was having a great time with actual ammunition with which to destroy her best friend.

Kagome couldn't help but notice an uptick in her teasing from Sango, where Kouga was concerned, in the past few weeks. He’d become her unofficial planning partner, so instead of a few minutes of small talk a day, there were significantly longer conversations, far more often. To make things worse, instead of Kagome making the trek across the street once every couple of days for flowers, Kouga had taken to hand delivering them himself, and lingering to talk if she didn’t have someone in her chair. Their conversations usually started with planning details about the fair, and ended with the pair laughing about something that happened over the weekend, or watching in horror as someone with a clear lack of knowledge about the establishment attempted to hit on Sango.

It didn't help Kagome that with each visit, Kouga came bearing a small bouquet of flowers, each bundle different from the last. Some days he would come by on her lunch break and she would return to a single bloom on her tattoo stool. Some she could identify: tulips, daisies and hibiscus blooms were common and she was happy that she could identify them at sight. More often than not, Kouga would present her with a flower that she couldn't identify at all, or could admit to never having seen before. These occasions were more rewarding, because they resulted in Kouga coming by the shop and staying for a stretch of time to tell her what the flower was, give her its Latin name and explain where they grew best and in what conditions. 

It wasn't the intense, unfiltered, "push-me-up-against-a-brick-wall-in-an-alley flirting that Sango suggested (not that she would have minded that), and her slow pace was frustrating to herself sometimes, but her options were limited. She didn't want to appear overeager, and it was leaps and bounds more than her initial encounter with him. 

_ Kagome had been in the shop twice before, and voth times for no more than a few minutes. Sango was picking up "apology" bouquets; thick clusters of roses in a red so deep that they were nearly black, in an opaque glass vase, also black. Kagome thought it was a bit much for an apology, but maybe Miroku had reason to be very apologetic. _

_ On her third visit, she had some time to burn between clients, and the weather outside was nice enough for a walk outside. She meant to go down the street and walk back up, but passing by the flower shop piqued her interest and before she knew it, she was inside and browsing. She'd met the owner before, but very briefly, and as such, didn't linger at the counter to reintroduce herself. The flower shop featured a large bay window in the front, and midday sun spilled in and covered the shop in warm sunshine. Sango's aesthetic was far darker, and Kagome felt herself sometimes pulled out of doors to replenish her need for sunshine. The flower shop was bright and smelled like a garden from a fairy tale. She hadn't anticipated buying anything (even though she hated walking out of a fellow small business without patronizing them in some way), until a bright pink lily seemed to wink at her from behind the counter. Her mother used to grow them and she remembered how their fragrance enveloped their old house. Her mother would laugh as she dusted her nose with pollen, trying to inhale as much as she could. _

_ Not wanting to look too eager, Kagome browsed the remainder of the aisles, even the non-flowering plants and gardening tools, before approaching. Aside from her excitement at seeing one of her favorite flowers, Kagome had reason to hide back in the aisle before emerging. On her first visit into the shop, she stood behind a towering Sango and one other customer, content to browse the aisles with her eyes. She stared around the shop area, halfway bored, until her eyes landed on a tanned arm, bare, save for a white sleeve, hastily rolled up at the top. _

_ Kagome thought she was staring in relative silence, but realized she must have uttered something, as Sango turned, followed the line of her sight and nudged her shoulder. _

_ "Nice, right? I've asked a dozen times and he's adamant. Doesn't want a drop of ink. Can you believe that?" _

_ "...no…" Kagome sighed, following the line of the muscular arm behind the counter until it disappeared into a white shirt that probably smelled as pleasant as his flower shop. _

_ Sango went on about her various ideas for inking his body, none of which Kagome heard, having already followed the line of his arm up to his shoulder and neck and finally to his face. She didn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't a sharp jaw and bright blue eyes. Blue wasn't exactly right, she thought. Cyan? Cerulean? _

_ When the din of Sango's voice disappeared, Kagome looked back to find her friend smiling wickedly at her. "What?" _

_ "I know that look…" _

_ "What look?" _

_ "Want me to introduce you?" Sango was still grinning, and Kagome began to understand why people sometimes scurried when they saw her friend. _

_ "No!" she whispered back harshly, hoping that Sango would follow suit and drop her voice down to a similar volume. _

_ "Why not; he's a nice guy. And he's hot." _

_ "He's not-no, I am not-I'm fine!" _

_ "Your face is very red, my friend-" _

_ Before Sango could thoroughly finish her teasing, the customer in front of them completed his transaction and turned to leave. Kagome, in a brash act of kindness and cowardice, offered to hold the door for them, and hastily exit the shop as well. _

_ Sango chastised her when she returned to the shop, and Kagome assured her she would go by and introduce herself on her own terms. _

_ Today, there was no Sango, or anyone else in the shop for that matter, and no chance of making a speedy exit, without looking absolutely insane. Though, to be fair, she was currently watching him from behind a large display of ferns, very much like an insane person. He was bent over the counter, looking bored and making a list of some kind. One hand was lazily writing on a pad of yellow paper and the other supported his strong jaw. Kagome exhaled and willed herself to quit staring, but found it difficult. Who said florists could be this hot? Weren't they all supposed to be little old ladies, who pinched your cheek and gave you an extra carnation in your bouquet for being 'such a sweet girl'? Since when did they have long, black ponytails and blue eyes and muscley arms? It was an outrage. _

_ Swallowing the lump in her throat, Kagome squared her shoulders and approached the counter. He didn't seem to notice her right away, and ignoring the blow to her ego, she cleared her throat and spoke first. _

_ “Can I buy some flowers?” she asked, fighting (and losing) the battle against her anxiety, and bouncing on her heels nervously. As a child, she learned the word "fidget" very early on, and her need to move was only exacerbated when nervous. _

_ From behind two other people, Kouga (whose name she had to wring from a very stubborn Sango) was good-looking. From behind a mass of ferns, he was very good-looking. From across a counter, smiling widely at her, he was ridiculously handsome and Kagome could feel the sweat gathering under her arms. The feeling made her wince instead of smile. _

_ “Sure,” he said, and Kagome tried not to shiver at the timbre in his voice. She was so desperate to slip in the shop without being noticed, that his initial greeting was lost on her. She found that she liked his voice and wouldn't mind hearing more of it. Unfortunately for her, she was sure to trip over anything she wanted to say, making conversation even more difficult. _

_ “I’ll take…” she started, pausing so it looked like this was an impromptu trip and not one that she'd planned for days. Kagome leaned over the counter, eyeing the flowers and desperate to inhale their soft scent. “That really bright, pink one? Is that a lily?” She knew the name of her favorite flower, of course, but didn't want to seem too eager. _

_ “Yeah. A Stargazer,” Kouga answered cooly, plucking a few stems from the water. Kagome watched as droplets of water followed a trail from his hands to the hair on his forearms and winked at her from the point of his elbow. Somehow, this man's arms called to her everytime she was near, and she deemed it unfair. What right did he have to have muscular arms and nice eyes and that smile _ and _ work across the street from her? How was she supposed to get anything done with him and his whole shop smelling like flowers and daydreams? _

_ “Pretty," she breathed out, looking away from him and at any other flower she could. "How about that white one...what are they?” _

_ He flashed a smile and Kagome smiled nervously in response. “These are garden variety hydrangeas.” _

_ “And can I have a couple of those hibiscus flowers from outside too?" She told herself that she was not, under any circumstances, following him closely to see how his shirt smelled. It was so perfectly white; sprung straight from a fabric softener commercial, and she meant to ask what detergent fought dirt stains so well. One drop of ink on any of her pastel sweaters and it was done for. She forgot to ask of course, the cotton shirt in question stretching itself over his back in a manner some would deem sinful. Sango mentioned that he didn't have any tattoos, but what would that bare back look like, draped seductively over her table? Would his skin call to her needle like a siren song? Would it cover with goosebumps as she began etching a pattern over his tanned flesh? Kagome righted her facial expression and tried to hide her blush once they reentered the shop, but the redness around her neck remained. _

_ "This is an...interesting bouquet you're putting together." _

_ Kagome's mouth fell open, but she shut it quickly. What was she supposed to tell him? That she saw him on her first visit but was too awestruck to say anything? That the smell of flowers and dirt reminded her of her mother and might quell her homesickness better than actually going home? That Sango bragged that he was 'as good looking, if not more so than the guys on the covers of her cheesy romance novels', and she wanted to see for herself if it was true? _

_ "Well, it's not quite a bouquet. I work across the street, and I'm trying to get better at drawing flowers…" she said, hoping it was convincing. Her statement was not a complete lie. She'd gotten a few requests for intricate flowers, that she had to pass on to other artists. Her skills were in black and grey, mostly portraits and stills, and it would only help to expand her portfolio. Dropping the hint that she worked nearby didn't hurt either. She just hoped he wasn't turned away by her profession, though it wouldn't have been the first time. _

_ He shrugged and Kagome fought to keep her eyes on his. "Don't be embarrassed...I stare at these guys all day, and I probably couldn't draw them to save my life." _

_ "I don't believe that," Kagome chuckled nervously, handing over her money. A tiny slip of paper emerged from the ancient cash register and he ripped it on its edge and turned it over. On the back, he quickly drew a simple flower and accompanying leaf, and despite not being exactly "artistic" it was still cute. _

_ "I think that's a perfectly decent...daisy?" Kagome asked, trying to fight the wide grin on her face. He slid the receipt across the counter to her, and she neatly folded it into a square and put it in her pocket. She wasn't sure why, but it seemed almost rude not to keep it. _

_ "Something tells me yours would be much better…" _

_ "I guess you'll have to see." Kagome silently congratulated herself for managing to almost flirt without sounding ridiculous. _

_ "Maybe you could sketch something and bring it by. When you're not busy," he suggested, shrugging at her and leaning forward over the counter. _

_ Momentarily stunned at an invitation to return after she'd spent most of her time tripping over herself, Kagome pretended to think it over. "I could do that. Thanks for my flowers…" _

_ "Kouga," he finished, stretching out his hand across the counter. Kagome took it and held her breath, letting her eyes sweep over his long tanned arm one last time. Images of her grasping his forearm and pressing her tattoo gun to the underside of his arm, wiping away the green soap and the feeling of his warm wrist in her hand. Her mind continued to wander, even as their handshake ended and he handed her her flowers. _

_ When the picture of herself clinging to those sme arms, back arched and throat exposed, Kagome clutched her purchase, bid Kouga a final goodbye and hastily left the shop. _

_ Sango goaded her relentlessly when she returned, but got no response. Kagome surmised that it had simply been too long since she was in the presence of a decent-looking guy, and her mind fell too quickly into the gutter. Even so, his name tumbled from her lips more often than necessary doe the remainder of the day. _

_ 'Kouga…' _

The night air was cool and a soft breeze helped calm Kagome's thoughts. The weather called for a warmer day, but that night was chilly, and even though she hugged her own elbows, Kagome was glad for the long, black pants she wore, albeit the shredded part that stretched from her thighs to mid shin. She and Kouga walked in relative silence, pointing out the tarp-covered booths in front of each business and trying to remember what they hid.

"I still can't believe I struck out with carnations…" Kouga told her, pulling her thoughts away from the fair.

Kagome huffed, then spoke. "Do you know anyone whose favorite flower is a carnation?"

"Gerber Daisy?"

"No, and you already guessed that."

"I did?"

"Last week. You gave me three: yellow, orange and a pretty pinky-purpley one." Kagome bit her lip, not meaning to reveal how meticulously she waa tracking his gifts to her, or that she secretly loved each one.

"Pinky-Purpley?"

"I didn't want to overwhelm you with my vast knowledge of color terminology and theory."

"Try me."

"Fuschia," Kagome drawled, in her most affected tone. 

"I'm impressed. "

"Y'know, you've been trying to figure out my favorite flower, but I don't know yours."

"It's actually pretty boring. I figure...with my line of work it should be more exotic."

"You're stalling."

"I really like sunflowers."

"Really?" Kagome was glad for the darkness of the street, with its sparse and badly maintained street lights. The revelation was endearing and she didn't want him to see the reaction it garnered. In the past few months, she'd seen him lift sixty-five pound planters over his head, but the knowledge of his favorite flower - a sunny, bright one, at that - was somehow much sexier. Even though lifting those planters gave her a glimpse of his toned stomach.

"Yeah; I don't know what it is about them. They just make me happy."

"Well, yellow is the color most closely associated with sunlight. So, that, combined with the name probably releases a healthy dose of serotonin-"

"Okay, I get it. You're a genius." He pushed at her arm playfully, and she almost wished that it would snake around her shoulders to pull her closer. When he dropped his hand, he coughed into it and spoke again. "So I like sunflowers because they're yellow, and you like…"

"Nice try."

"Oh come on, I have to be close."

Kagome raised her eyebrows and smiled. "You've actually gotten close a few times."

"What?! When?!"

"I don't know...hey look!" Kagome said, looking away and pointing over his shoulder

"That's not gonna work-"

"No, seriously, the banner!" Rushing around him, Kagome looked up at the vinyl sign draped over the awning of The Knitting Barn. It looked to have been originally tied down at two points, but the breeze picked up and loosened one of ita holds. Knowing Mrs. Strand, Kagome was sure that if she left the banner in such a state, the elderly woman would arrive early the next morning, see the banner and attempt to fix it herself. The only thing her hastily thrown together neighborhood fair needed was an octogenarian with a fractured hip. "Can you give me a boost?" 

Kouga acted quickly, kneeling in front of her and weaving his fingers to cradle Kagome's foot. She supported herself by leaning on his shoulders, as he stood to hoist her up. Kagome steadied herself before leaning to reach for the banner, which was flapping and moving with the wind. She managed to grab a corner, and with some difficulty, reposition it against the brick wall. It wasn't until she began checking to make sure the banner was secure, that Kagome realized her position. She was thankful for the tight black pants she chose that day, but her top, a loose fitting, green crop top, was only modest when seen from in front of her. Kouga was now standing under her, and she was sure that if he looked up, he would be able to see more of her than she intended. The realization made her grip his shoulder tighter, and he responded.

"Everything okay?"

She glanced down at him and breathed nervously. "Yes, I'm...uh…it's good."

"Good job spotting that…" he began, smiling up at her. Kagome tried to follow the line of his eyes and thankfully, they were focused on her face. Relief flooded her senses, but the aftertaste was tinged with disappointment. Dis she want him looking up her shirt? He'd no doubt see the tattoos she kept hidden, and with bitterness Kagome remembered the last time she ventured to show a guy her body.

In her musings, Kagome failed to register the increasing wind, and the body below her, struggling to hold her up. When she felt herself begin to topple, she gripped the only thing she could reach for, and held on. Instinctively, her knees came together, and with a cry, she felt her body surge forward. The two landed with a thud, and Kagome recovered quickly, immediately checking on the man underneath her.

"Kouga? Are you okay? Kouga? Kouga!"

* * *

The fall was to be expected. A brief shower earlier in the day made the sidewalks and street slick, and the neighborhood was on a slight incline. He wanted to hold Kagome more securely, but any other way made him look like he was trying to grope her. And even he could admit, the temptation to do so would have been great. He considered even letting her sit on his shoulders, but the thought of those supple thighs so close to his face made a shiver run down the length of his spine. 

A gust of wind picked up and with it, Kouga's balance faltered. His first priority was to protect Kagome from the brunt of the impact, and from the pain he felt in his head and parts of his back, he succeeded. Her immediate reaction to cling to him, coupled with the concern in her voice when she came to, helped to soften the blow of having dropped the potential woman of his dreams at his first display of physical machismo. 

He wanted to open his eyes and respond vocally, and tell her that aside from a bruised ego, he was otherwise okay. But once he felt her move over him, the pink-tinted hair on his chest and shoulders, all hope of removing himself was lost. Her hands were warm on the nape of his neck, checking for a pulse. She couldn't have had any reason to actually believe him dead, and her lingering over him didn't make sense...until he opened his eyes.

She sat over him, completely still but her body humming; she seemed scared to move but eager to do so anyway. A nearby streetlight illuminated half of her face, catching the shine of her nose ring, making her hair glow and her eyes shine. He wanted to ask her if she was okay, say something to break the silence and tension, but nothing came. When her glance flicked from his eyes to his mouth and back again, he was relieved that he chose not to speak. The months of timidity and thinly veiled flirting were shattered when he wove his hands through her silky hair and pulled her face down to meet his.

Kouga felt her initial stiffness, and he panicked momentarily. Relief rushed in when she relaxed against him, exhaling and molding her body over his. Her scent was more intoxicating than even his most vivid fantasy, and he found himself immediately addicted. She was a bevy of contradictions, and he shouldn't have been surprised. As much as he enjoyed her soft, pastel-colored sweaters coupled with leather boots and facial piercings did he revel in the softness of her skin and the firmness with which she pushed and pulled against him. She was both bold and patient, grazing her small hands up and down his arms, and patient, straddling him and managing to keep her full weight to herself.

Kouga opened his mouth to her and was rewarded beyond his imagination, the taste of her sweet lips and the sensation of her mouth moving over his making his stomach clench. In turn, his boldness was piqued, and Kouga ghosted his hands over her partially exposed back. He'd wondered, more times than he could count, what tattoos she kept hidden under those long sweaters. Her top that way was cropped, and a line of ink peeked out from the hem, and called to him like a siren. She seemed to display some with pride; ones on her neck and wrists, but the others were a mystery to him, a secret he wanted to unveil for months.

He followed the curve of her back, and swallowed the moan she pressed to his lips. Her back dipped to arch against him and then rose to meet the swell of her backside. Kouga didn't want to startle her, and settled for resting his hand on the small of her back, intent on massaging the twin dimples on her back and making a path back up her spine. His fingers brushed over something low on her back, and he felt her still over him. He made another pass to inspect it and ascertain its shape, but instead of remaining still, Kagome leapt away and rolled off of him. She was so quick that by the time he recovered and managed to sit up, she was already seated on the asphalt, turned away from him. Kagome said nothing, and kept one hand pressed to her mouth and nose. The cool air showed puffs of breath escaping from between her fingers.

Kouga was flooded with guilt, but knew better than to move towards her. He clenched a fist, angry at himself for having lost control, but released it to run a hand over his face and forehead. The night air cooled his face and neck, and with it, revealed in stunning clarity, that for all his flirtations and witty conversation with Kagome, he had unknowingly set up a boundary of playful friendship, one that he bulldozed through in a matter of moments. 

"Kagome," he started, breathing her name like he'd been drowning. "I'm...I'm so sor-"

"No! It's not-" she paused, taking in gulps of air and releasing them in no explicit pattern. "It's not you, I'm...I really have to go." She sprang up, considered her dirtied knees and audibly winced at what caused them. "I'm sorry," she breathed, turning away from him to run, but seeming to catch herself. She proceeded down the street, hindered only by the hand at the small of her back. 

Kouga wasn't sure how long he sat and contemplated his predicament. By the time he managed to stand and begin the short, but agonizing walk to his home, he knew at least three things for certain. First, he would have to apologize somehow, possibly with the aid of an elaborate floral arrangement. Second, if she chose to forgive him, he was, without a doubt, going to have to redeem himself. And third, a cautious and careful examination of her back was definitely in order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this because I'm actually proud of the end of this chapter. Suck it, Self Doubt!


	3. Chapter Three

"I can't go out there." Kagome held on to the armrests of her chair as if preparing for her own execution.

Sango, on the other hand, looked unbothered. She was arranging stacks of temporary tattoos for the community fair, which was about to start. "What are you talking about? This is your whole thing."

Kagome's nose flared, igniting a sharp pain in her nose. "I. Can't."

"...have you been here all night?"

"No, I was here late and then I went home, but I couldn't sleep so I came in early." She looked around at all the spaces she managed to clean; the bathroom in the back, the mirrors and glass display cases, as well as the floor and shelves, swept and dusted respectively. 

"Did you touch my station?" Sango forbid anyone from ever touching her station for any reason. An artist once borrowed her green soap, and she almost tore his arm off.

"No, I just...cleaned. Everything else." Cleaning always calmed her nerves and allowed her to go through arguments in her head. Inuyasha always knew when she was mad at him, because the apartment was spotless and she was fuming.

Kagome watched as her friend's shoulders dropped, and hers did as well. "Okay, and are you going to tell me why my shop is so immaculately clean? Not that I mind…"

"Something happened last night," Kagome began, mentally telling herself when to inhale and exhale.

"Uh huh."

"With Kouga."

Sango's boredom immediately melted away, and a wicked smile spread across her face. Abandoning her tattoos, she took a seat in Kagome's tattoo chair and settled in for the story. "Oh yeah!"

"No 'Oh yeah!' Oh no! It's not good." 

"Is that why you're in here cleaning?" Sango looked around, still mischievous. "Did you...in here?"

Kagome reddened. "Gross! No!"

Her friend's pierced eyebrows rose. "Don't knock it 'til you've tried it...these chairs are built for pain and pleasure." Sango patted the leather of the chair for emphasis.

Kagome stepped back. "Wait...have you-"

"Oh yeah. Several times." 

"In my chair?!"

"No; I'd have told you. "

"Good."

"Wait, did you...in my chair?!"

"No!"

"Well, where, then?"

"Nowhere! That's not what happened!"

"What then? You said it was bad."

Kagome looked away and begin swiveling in her seat. "Trust me, it wouldn't be bad…" she said under her breath.

"It sure wouldn't, you little minx." Sango reached over to pinch her arm and she drew back just in time. "Come on; spill it."

She sighed, and leaned forward. "We were outside-"

"Kinky, but illegal. Go on."

"And the banner for The Knitting Barn was coming off, so he gave me a leg up to fix it."

"And he took you against the wall like an animal! Yes!" Sango repeated her body rolls from the day before, and Kagome briefly thought about choking her.

"Would you curb your libido for a moment?!"

Sango stilled, but maintained her smile. "Rawr. I like feisty Kagome."

"Well, we fell. And I landed...on him. But I freaked out and ran away."

"Are you trying to tell me," Sango paused, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder to stop her from talking. "That you had a searing hot man underneath you, and you _ ran away _?"

"It's not that simple." Kagome didn't want to tell anyone about her night, particularly the end, but Sango took one look at her and knew something was amiss. "Something else happened before I ran off."

"Please, simplify. Because it doesn't sound that complicated. It sounds like you're lucky."

Kagome looked at her friend, confused. "Sango, you have a boyfriend...whom you live with."

"I have needs, Kagome, and sometimes Miroku is tired."

"I didn't need to know that."

"Okay, so what really happened?"

"...we fell…"

"Yes. I see."

"And I thought he hit his head."

"A reasonable concern; go ahead."

"And so I...just stayed there."

"On top of him?"

"Yeah."

"Straddling him?"

"Oh god…"

"That's what I would have said. And then?"

"I might have kissed him." Kagome felt a harsh heat take over her face and neck and wanted to rescind her confession. "Well, I'm not sure who initiated-"

"It hardly matters," Sango told her, pulling herself up off of the chair and stretching her back. Sango toned down her aesthetic for the day, still in head to toe black, but with far less spikes and chains. She told Kagome there would be too many children present and the last thing the shop needed was a personal injury lawsuit from the helicopter parents of a clumsy kid. No one ran away screaming. "I don't see what about that would freak you out."

"We kind of took our time…" Kagome continued, quieter. 

"Kagome...were you making out in the street with a boy?" At her friend's groan, Sango released a laugh characteristic of most movie villains. "My girl! Was he good?"

Kagome looked up from her hands. "It was...fantastic," she sighed.

"I knew it! He's all sweet and delicate with his little pruning shears, cuttin' roses, but I knew it. Those hands were made for lovin'. Gimme all the details."

"At some point, he felt my...dermals."

"Kagome got some under-the-shirt action. About time; I've never been more proud of you.

"That's kind of a big deal for me." Kagome knew that for every inch of pierced or tattooed skin she had, Sango beat her by a mile. She guessed that with that many mods, and semblance of shyness was gone. With her meager and discreet body modifications, she was less willing to show them to anybody.

"Why? You've had them for months."

"I know _that_, but I kind of like to trust someone before I go showing them all my mods. Especially those."

Sango huffed. "Honey, you work at a tattoo shop. Yours are definitely discreet, but he's got to know you have them."

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Your neck and your wrist have ink, and if you don't think he's fantasized about where else you're tatted, you are _ lying _ to yourself. "

Kagome's eyes widened. She had definitely imagined what he looked like, shirtless and stretched out over her, but had he? What exactly did he imagine? Flawless, unmarked, milky skin? "That's not true," she said, not entirely convinced herself.

"It absolutely is. You're such a little tease, too. With that sweet little hummingbird behind your ear, and the little black cat on your wrist. Can you imagine his face when he sees your back? Or your _ ribs _?"

"I can imagine it, because I've seen it." Kagome deadpanned. When Sango looked confused, she elaborated. "He'll freak out and run away, _ too _ just like Inu-"

"I could have sworn I told you not to mention him in my shop. _ Ever _." Sango interrupted, before softening her voice. "Kagome, In-he was a prick. It's one thing to not be into body mods, but to look down on you because of yours? You're better off without him."

"I guess. I just don't want to be a joke." 

"You're not a joke. Who said that?"

"Everyone here...except you." Resuming her cleaning, Kagome grabbed a nearby rag and ran it over the counter in front of her. "I'm Baby Sango. A poor man's imitation of you, except a worse artist. I guess I don't mind, it's just...frustrating. I spent years, following this guy around like some pathetic puppy and now everyone thinks I'm doing that to you. I don't even have my own identity."

"Listen, you're more than qualified to carry your weight around here. I like you, and everything, but I wouldn't hire you if I didn't think your work was good. And, yeah this industry still kind of sucks for us, but, I dunno...just be better than that. I'm sorry. Don't let those dick rags get you down."

"'Dick rags'?"

"Its my answer to 'douchebags, which are occasionally useful." Sango offered a smile. "I mean all of that stuff, you know. Not to mention, your mods are adorable. And I'm not just saying that because I did most of them. If anyone, Kouga included says different, they're insane."

"I guess-"

"So you're gonna give him a shot? I've worked across the street from him for years, and he's a good guy."

"Does he ever-"

"Talk about you? Yes. All the time. For months." She told her, pretending to sound annoyed. "But, don't ask me what he said, because I am sworn to secrecy by an oath of blood." 

Kagome rounded her friend, and stood on her toes to be at eye level with her. She wore her highest combat boots, and even with the added height, still dwarfed her friend by inches."You have to! Anytime I get around him, I get all fidgety and hot and my nose ring itches."

"It _ itches _?"

"Yes, it itches!" she shouted, poking at her nose for emphasis. "Geez, what gauge did you use on me?! It's killing me!" Kagome said, trying to gingerly move the little black ring around in her nostril and hide her reddened face at the same time.

"Are you…" Sango began slowly. "...questioning the cleanliness of my tools, or the methods with which I perform my art?" 

"...no…" Kagome replied, sheepishly. Every word from her friend dripped with venom, and despite their long friendship, she was sure that Sango could break her over her heavily tattooed knee if she wanted. "It's just been itchy lately, and it only happens when he's around...or when I talk about him, or think about him, or when he-"

Before she could finish, Sango was upon her, holding her cheeks in one hand and moving her own head to look at her nose closely. 

"Oh yeah, I've seen this before."

"You have? Is it infected?"

"No, _ worse _. This happened to a girl I knew a few years ago." Sango released her friend and walked to her own station. It was always meticulously maintained, every tool, needle, brush and wrap in its designated spot. Sango could spot whether someone had been in her things after only a few seconds of inspection. Removing a tiny moist towelette packet, she handed it to Kagome, who tore it open and began dabbing at her nose. 

"Is it serious?" 

"Unfortunately, yes. You're gonna have to clean it twice a day, and for long term recovery, you'll need to get under the hot guy who works across the street."

Kagome snatched her tissue away, and winced at the sting. "Sango!"

"Or on top...I'm all about equality…"

"You're giving me a headache…"

"Kouga could give you a backache, if you'd let him!"

"You are so not helping."

"Of course I am. Now get over here." Sango's hand shot out and grabbed her friend, pulling her close.

Kagome paused. "Sango...you're hugging me."

"I am. And if you ever tell anyone, I'll cut your pretty little tongue out." Kagome initially balked at Sango's height and ample bosom, making the hug awkward, but relaxed into the embrace after a moment. The knowledge that her friend wore her marked skin proudly, found love and took the foolishness of no man in the process, comforted her more than she knew she needed.

"Am I interrupting something?"

With her back to the door, Kagome couldn't see who was at the door, but the voice was unmistakable. The sound of his low moan echoed in her ears, and she froze against Sango.

Sensing Kagome's nervousness, Sango released her and squeezed her arm quickly before stepping away. "Nope. Kagome was just telling me that since our store has two booths, she should set up somewhere else on the block."

Kagome willed herself to nod instead of questioning the lie, or the speed at which her friend came up with it. She was thoroughly distracted when Kouga set his eyes on her and offered a small smile. She both cursed and thanked the heavens above that he stayed standing in the shop's doorway. The distance kept her from lunging at him, but at the same time, it was maddening.

Gesturing across the street, Kouga spoke again. "If you want, you can set up in front of my shop. I was going to do a flower arranging booth, but face -painting would probably be more popular."

"Great! I'm gonna go set up my booth." Sango slapped Kagome on the back, interrupting her already labored breathing. "Kagome, have yourself a good day."

"She's not subtle." Kagome said, grimacing, wishing her skirt had pockets or somewhere to hide her fidgeting hands. She settled with gathering her face paint supplies.

"It's okay." Kouga seemed as nervous as she, scratching the back of his neck where his hair brushed against the skin. Kagome silently wondered what he looked like with that inky black hair around his shoulders. "I actually have something for you over at my shop."

She followed him over, dancing between ogling his back and feeling stupid for ogling his back. Despite Sango's convincing pep talk, doubt still lingered in the back of her mind. She was not new to rejection, and something about this one felt like it would have been worse than her last. Last time she saw it building, felt the coldness over time. If Kouga's reaction to her body was anything similar, the sting would be sharp and constant.

Stepping inside Lupus Blooms, Kagome let her eyes wander around. Kouga would often show her some new flower arrangement he was working on or an exotic addition to his own collection. When he stopped in front of the counter abruptly, she guessed that they were not in for a tour of the greenhouses that day.

He turned quickly, and shoved into her hands a potted plant, with two tall stems intertwined, and a white petaled flower at the top, dotted with purple. 

"It's...an orchid." Kagome said, not sure what to say. It was certainly beautiful, and she was no stranger to receiving potted flowers from Kouga as opposed to bouquets. This was certainly the tallest plant she'd received; nothing like the shallow-potted african violets she got the week prior.

Kouga cleared his throat, bringing her attention from the flowers that towered over her. "Orchids are typically given as a form of apology."

Kagome smiled sadly. "You don't have to apologize," she told him. If she wasn't already so attracted to him, she certainly was now. He made no demands of her or her attention, and when met with her apparent discomfort, he backed up to a safe distance. While she didn't particularly care for it, she had to admire the respect behind it.

"I really do...I do _ like _ you. And if anything I did last night messed that up, I completely understand. I can't imagine being groped in the middle of the night makes me look very good." 

Shocked to find the timidity behind his confession (and shocked at the confession itself), Kagome didn't want to respond with any shred of doubt. If he was treading lightly for her sake, she knew she would have to be bold. She tried to think of what Sango would say in response. She'd gone out with her enough times and saw how Sango would react to someone asking her out. It usually involved threat of castration, and Kagome thought against following her friend's actions.

"I don't know if I would say 'groping'." She began, trying to casually move around Kouga and place her orchid on the countertop. It was difficult to exude effortless sensuality when holding a potted plant, and Kagome wasn't sure how Kouga managed to do it on a regular basis. "It sounds like I was an unwilling participant...and I _ was _ willing."

If Kagome could get a snapshot of Kouga's face, she would frame it alongside his daisy doodle and the multiple cards that came with the bouquets he offered. Her boldness was rewarded by a momentary look of surprise, followed by the barest flush over his cheeks. The incentive toward being more adventurous was already paying off. 

"You were?"

Dropping her voice, Kagome leaned back on the counter and looked him in the eye. "_Very _."

"That's interesting, because I thought, given you reaction-" he said, all shock gone from his face, and back was the very cool, collected, slightly flirtatious Kouga. He slid in front of her, briefly trapping her between himself and the counter, and just as Kagome considered how the difference in the height would disappear if he grabbed her by the hops to lift her onto the counter, he moved away. The tease didn't go unnoticed and Kagome scrunched her nose at the ache it left behind. 

"Yeah, um...sorry about that-" she said, following after him as he grabbed a folding table next to the door. The only chairs she saw in the shop were tall with short backs, perfect for face painting. Kagome wasn't looking forward to an aching back after bending over all day to paint kids' faces.

"You don't have to apologize. It's...your body." Kouga u folded the table on the sidewalk in front of his shop, and Kagome followed suit, setting up a chair on opposite sides of the table. She only painted faces for the occasional kids' parry, but was happy to see that none of them were too dried out. 

"Thanks, actually," she said, pushing back her shyness. Setting up the table gave her hands something to do and eyes somewhere to go other than Kouga's jaw. "To answer your question, on my back is something called a dermal. It's like a traditional piercing, only it's anchored under the skin so it doesn't...pop out."

"That's cool."

Kagome looked at him skeptically. "You don't have to say that."

"No, I mean it. I don't think I know anyone with a dermal piercing." 

"Four."

"You have _ four _?!" Kagome winced and waited for the inevitable. Even if one was "cool", four was a lot. Even her mother had an opinion when she had four piercings in her ear alone, and that was some years ago. "That's amazing."

The sincerity in his voice made Kagome beam, and she mourned her short voyage into being sexy and mysterious. "Thanks. I actually have more piercings than tattoos, which is weird, given my line of work. But, my tattoos all mean something and my piercings were all kind of...spur of the moment impulses."

Kouga seemed to weigh her statement with a bit of curiosity. "That makes sense. Though, you've explained to me _ what _ a dermal is, but not why you got so upset. It's no big deal; I just wanna know if I…hurt you?"

"Hurt me?" 

"I mean, is it _ fresh _?"

Kagome blinked once before she understood what he was asking. His assumption made sense; she'd jumped away from him like she was actually burned. "Oh; no, nothing like that."

"So…"

"We're gonna be at this table for most of the day. I'm sure I'll get around to that story."

"And if not, there's always dinner." Kouga looked unbothered by her dodging of his question, and Kagome was glad he didn't press her. She already trusted him enough to tell him, but it wasn't a particularly happy tale. Before Kagome could accept or reject, he went on, surveying the table. "I think we're all set up out here."

Kagome looked at the flower shop, and the spotted orchid caught her eye. "I forgot my Unnecessary Apology Orchid."

Kouga barked out a laugh, clearly not offended. "Actually, orchids do better in indirect sunlight, so you probably want to keep it inside."

Boldness reared its head again, and Kagome welcomed it, finding the fit more comfortable the more she tried it."...are you flirting with me, or actually teaching me how to care for my orchid?"

Pushing back, Kouga stepped forward, brushing a hand over jaw. She fought to keep her eyes from rolling back. "Flirting. But also, you really shouldn't bring your orchid outside."

* * *

The neighborhood fair began with almost immediate success. Kagome posted flyers on the shop's social media pages, and encouraged all the stores with such an outlet to do the same. As a result, people from neighboring areas came out, filling the street with a steady stream of patrons. The day was warm and sunny, and shop owners propped their doors open to bring in more warm air and people. Most offered a booth or station of some kind, related to their business. The Knitting Barn was showing kids how to knit without the use of needles, the bakery Whisky Business gave away cookie dough samples, and Sango's temporary tattoos were a big hit. Kagome left the face painting booth every so often to check on the other vendors and shop owners, and to take photos to post later. On one of her tours about the neighborhood, she wanted to stop by the tattoo shop to chat with Sango. Rounding the back of the shop, she stopped at the sound of multiple voices. 

_ "Are we done here?" _

_ "Elvira said we have to stay all day." _

Kagome recognized the nickname for Sango, which was not always meant as a compliment. Smoke wafted from the dimly lit alley, and Kagome could almost recognize some of the people talking.

_ "That's just 'cause Baby Sango did this…" _

_ "Ugh," groaned one of the voices. "I can't stand her." _

_ "I don't know; she's kinda hot." _

_ "Whatever, her tattoos are shit-" _

_ "Who cares what her freakin' tattoos look like?" _

_ "Man, she shouldn't even be here…" _

Backing away from the mouth of the alley, Kagome came around to the front of the shop, and managed to slip inside without being noticed. Sango had a sizable crowd waiting for temporary tattoos, and didn't seem to notice Kagome go past her. Once inside, Kagome slid into her tattoo chair, held her face in her hands and cried. She knew her place in the shop; she was one of the youngest artists with some of the least experience, but, if nothing else, she figured she had the respect of her colleague. To hear them talk about her and Sango so rudely only shattered her resolve more, and the notion of giving up crossed her mind again. 

Once she realized she'd been sulking for the better part of half and hour, she pushed herself up from her chair and walked over to the full length mirror at her station, typically used by patrons to examine, admire and sometimes criticize her work. In the top drawer of her work desk was an emergency stash of makeup, and she went right to work, repairing the damage done by her tears. Once her face was properly made up, she took a few deep breaths and exited the shop. Sango was still swamped, but did not seem bothered and she stopped Kagome to say hi and ask how face-painting waa going. Kagome answered as quickly as she could, remarking that she had to get back in case Kouga was swamped. She didn't want to stay in Sango's presence too long, at the risk of crying again.

She was surprised to find the table empty, save for Kouga and some snacks he managed to procure, and Kagome offered a sincere smile when she approached the table.

"You okay?" he asked, shielding his eyes from the waning afternoon sun to better see her.

"Mhm," Kagome offered, nodding up at him. She realized then that her reddened eyes caught his attention and was quick with a lie, albeit not a very good one. "I just touched up my eyeliner and jabbed myself in the eye."

Kouga furrowed his brow and looked at her skeptically. Bending to be at eye level with her, he asked, "Then why are _ both _ red?"

Kagome blinked and both eyes stung. "I'm very clumsy...and _ you _ are very observant. It's nothing really."

"I don't know many people that cry over 'nothing'."

She exhaled and tried to look him in the eye. He was so earnest and caring, and while it wasn't her intention to reveal so much of herself so soon, she found it harder and harder _ not _ to. "Can I show you something?" The sketchbook that held most of her face-painting sketches was also the home of her drawings for tattoos she was planning. They were mostly rudimentary pencil drawings; few were in color and even fewer were finished. The only one she nearly completed came from a night of sheer boredom and the discovery of some old watercolor paints on her apartment. 

The painting was a watercolor wolf's face; grey on one side and black on the other, the grey side featured no background save for streaks of bright red,band the detailing on the fur and muzzle was intricate. The black side of the wolf was backed by swirling clouds of smoke in grey and blue. The most striking part of her design were the eyes; the black wolf wore an icy blue eye and the grey, a bright red, contrasting to the color of their fur.

Kouga held the sketchbook and ran a hand over the painting, so tenderly, Kagome thought he could have been handling a real wolf. "Kagome, this is _ beautiful _. Did you tattoo this?"

"No. Someone came in and wanted a tattoo, but didnt know what they wanted. They ended up going with something another artist suggested," she said sadly. It wasn't a direct rejection; she guessed that the patron wanted something more generic, but she was immensely proud of coming up with something, free of reference, and being told that they wanted to go with an upper arm tribal tattoo instead was disheartening. "I was actually thinking of entering it into this regional competition. Not that I could win, since I'd actually have to...tattoo it."

"Hell, _ I'd _ get this tattooed on me." Kouga was now holding the sketchbook in front of him, as if inspecting a piece of fine art.

Kagome laughed. "No you wouldn't."

"You're right; I'm a wimp. But, this is amazing."

"Thanks." Taking the sketchbook back, Kagome felt bad for wringing the compliment from him. "Sorry. That sounds like I'm fishing for compliments. I just wanted to know what it looked like to a less critical eye. Some of the other artists can be tough."

"Did somebody say something about your drawing?" Kouga looked confused, his eye still on the book in her lap.

"Yeah. I'm not exactly the most popular artist over there." She didn't want to repeat the words she overheard out loud or in her head, but they were etched in her memory. How was she _ that _ bad without knowing? Sango didn't seem to think so, but maybe her judgement was blinded by friendship.

Kouga was quiet for a stretch of time. "I'm really sorry that's happening to you."

"It's fine." Kagome exhaled and rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen her nerves.

"Could you...put that on my arm?" he asked after a beat, sounding almost scared to ask. Kouga had been cautious with her for most of the day; only initiating touch when absolutely necessary. His restraint was respectful and appreciated, but she also wanted to be more reassured. Tattooing (or, in this case, body art) could be very intimate. Physical contact was inevitable, and if he was still uncomfortable, she didn't want to press it.

"What, this? Now?" 

"Yeah. I...really love it."

"I guess. But this is a _ face painting _ booth…" Kagome told herself that she was inspecting his face to figure out the logistics of painting the wolf on his face. The realization that the lines of his jaw, and the soft blue of his eyes somehow comforted her was irrelevant. This was an artistic exploration, and nothing more.

"I think it'd actually look better on my arm. And in return, I will paint your face." He grinned wide at this, and Kagome felt compelled to do the same. 

"Deal." Once her paints and brushes were organized, Kagome got to work on her painting. She gripped Kouga arm, gently at first, and turned it over to reveal the hairless side. His skin was hot in her hand and she ignored the bead of sweat making a trail down her neck. She started with a sponge, dabbing the contrasting blue and red, before moving on to the more deliberate black lines. She felt her face take on her Tattoo Face; Sango would always remark that it was the only time she really frowned. Her brow wrinkled in concentration amd she hunched over, bringing his arm close to her face. She was using the smallest brush she had, when he spoke up.

"So…"

"So?" Kagome said, releasing her Tattoo Face and looking up at Kouga for the first time since she started. In her concentration, she'd forgotten to be nervous around him, but his lopsided grin brought it back in full force.

"Four dermals, huh?"

The shy grin on her face broke into a wide smile as she shook her head. "You're obsessed."

"Can you blame me? It's so badass. Metal. Anchors. In your back." He said, trying to emphasize what he was saying with moving too much.

"Do I lose badassery points if I tell you that my dermal tops are little purple bows?"

"No! Now you're an _ adorable _ badass."

"Ya know, if you ever decide to get a tattoo, you might not want to distract your artist too much."

Turning his hand, but keeping the arm in Kagome's grasp, his fingers brushed her wrist as he met her eyes again. "But what if I like distracting my artist?"

The motion was as soft as a feather, but the bolt of electricity down her spine was sharp, and almost elicited a gaap from Kagome. She had to compose herself before trying to speak again. "Then be prepared for a lot of blowouts. " Realizing her words right after she spoke them, Kagome squeezed his arm and blushed to find him already smiling wickedly at her through his dark bangs. "No, that's not what I mean!"

"I don't know…" he drawled, his gaze sinful.

"It just means that I pressed too hard on your skin, and the needle went too far in, and it makes your tattoo look fuzzy,"she explained in a hurry. He laughed in response, but it didn't feel mocking, so she joined in. "You're incorrigible. "

"So does this mean there's some heavily tatted ex I have to worry about? Maybe someone who's taken one too many of your practice tattoos?" he joked.

Kagome chuckled dryly. "No… my ex actually _ hated _ tattoos." 

"What?" 

"Yeah. I knew him before I had any, and then even after we started dating I only had a few. I guess he thought I'd stop after one or two."

"And when you didn't?"

Kagome stopped and sat up. Fidgeting for a moment over the paints before her hand found a dry paper towel, she wiped the excess water from Kouga's arm and dried her hands slowly. 

"...he told me my body was _ ruined _."

A stillness hung in the air between them, despite the hum of life on the street. Kago.e sat back and looked at Kouga squarely, whose face reflected a mixture of confusion, anger and pity. She hated the last one; so much of her decision to move away was based on paint and hurt, and her refusal to tackle them was slowly chipping away at any remaining self-confidence. It was why, as well-intentioned as Sango's pep talks were, they often fell on deaf, heavily pierced ears.

"Kagome, I'm-"

"I mean, sure, one day I might look back and not be _ in love _ with this silly little cat tattoo on my wrist but...I don't know. It's stupid." Kagome blinked away the wetness in her eyes, determined not to be caught crying twice in one day, especially by the same person. 

"I'm sorry. No one should make you feel that way."

"I think it's why I'm still kind of timid in my tattooing. I need to just...get out of this funk." Doing so was proving harder than she thought possible. She wanted to be the confident artist she was in her mind, but the roadblocks seemed to stack up against her. "Okay, you're all done."

Kouga held his arm out in front of him, turning away from the fading sunlight to see it better. "I really love it. You're very talented," he told her, wanting to say more, but stopping himself. "Alright, my turn." 

"I don't know..." Kagome groaned, with a sour expression.

"You're the only person here without a painted face." Before she could point out the numerous adults without any face paint, Kouga was grabbing a handful of brushes and inspecting the paints. Kouga motioned with his head for her to switch seats with him, after a huff, she obliged. Once reseated, he grabbed both armrests of Kagome's chair, and dragged it closer to him, stopping when her right knee settled between his. Kagome fought back a squeak at the heat that passed up the thighs and lingered in her belly. "Ready?"

She nodded silently and turned her face away, trying to focus on something-anything- else, and not blush in the process. Kouga held the other side of her face softly, his hand splayed out over her cheek and ghosting over the juncture of her neck and jaw. She tried not to sigh, and settled for letting her eyes fall closed.

Kagome tried to identify the shapes he was painting on her face, but she lost track of the pattern, content with the cool brush gliding over her face. The words of her coworkers, her doubts about her work, even Inuyasha's ignorance, slid away, and she felt herself leaning into Kouga's touch more. He would adjust her face as needed, coaxing her to tilt her chin down, or brush a stray hair from her face, and for the hundredth time since the night prior, she contemplated the feeling of his hands over her skin. He was anything but shy, but managed to make her feel comfortable. Kouga somehow was firm and compliant at the same time, and Kagome smiled at the thought.

"What's that little smile for?"

"This is surprisingly relaxing…" she sighed, keeping her eyes closed.

"Well, don't expect too much; I'm still as hopeless an artist as the first day we met."

Kagome chuckled. "You remember that."

"Would I be a huge sap if I said 'yes'?"

"Would I be a huge sap if I told you that I kept it?"

Kouga's hand stilled over her, and Kagome cracked her eyes open. "You did?"

"It was cute. I didn't want to just...throw it out."

Kouga smiled and shook his head, resuming his painting. Again, Kagome thought maybe she said too much, but also figured that if Kouga were truly repulsed, he wouldn't have stuck around for so long. Before she could delve too deep into her own feelings, Kouga was done, and passing her the handheld mirror they used to show patrons their face paintings.

On the left side of her face were two sunflower blooms, one on her cheek and the other just above her eye, framing the curves and hollowed of her face perfectly. Around the flowers were leaves in varying shades of green. He managed to employ shading and highlights to each part of the plant, and she wanted to ask if he was taking some art course. Lowering the mirror to thank him for her face art, Kagome found him on the other side, watching her intently. His warm hands found her face and cradled it gently, as if handling something precious. Kagome let a quiet sigh escape, and Kouga waited for her to meet his eyes before he spoke.

All doubts of his sincerity disappeared. 

"You are...so beautiful," Kouga began, his gaze sweeping from Kagome's hairline to her jaw, from her parted lips and the flowers he painted near her eyes, until he locked eyes with her again. "no amount of ink could ruin that."

The next time her eyes fell closed, Kouga was pressing his lips to hers, holding her small face in place. It was nothing like the kiss from the night prior; instead, he moved patiently and carefully, pushing and pulling back in equal measure. 

Moving away, he pressed his forehead to hers, and she was rewarded with his warm breath dusting over her face. The day was slowly cooling, and the sunlight fading, but Kagome felt as hot as if she were standing on the sun. 

"Have dinner with me?" he asked, and Kagome was relieved to find her as breathless as herself.

She inhaled and breathed in the smell of wet earth and freshly bloomed flowers.

"Yes."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of proud of this chapter...it was the one that kind of gave birth to the whole story...the first portion of the conversation between Sango and Kagome was the first thing I wrote when I came across this prompt. 
> 
> Let me know how you liked it!
> 
> PO


	4. Chapter Four

Kouga was late. 

Kouga _ hated _ being late. If he found himself late for work, or an appointment, it somehow managed to set the remainder of his day off course. His grandmother told him as a child "To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is unheard of". These words reverberated in his mind as he raced down alleys and across town, possibly running a red light or two on his way to Kagome's apartment. He avoided puddles that would inevitably stain the hem of his pants and hoped that the dirtied streets didn't kick up any mud onto his clothes. 

The appointment that led him to be tardy was supposed to end much earlier, but Kouga only blamed himself for thinking that such a consultation would only take a few minutes. Judging from the consults _ he _ gave over centerpieces and floral arrangements, he should have given himself more time. This consult, to be fair, was far more permanent, and an extra half hour would have done him some good. Attempting to finish dressing himself and driving was a dangerous combination. He was nervous just standing in his bathroom mirror trying to button a shirt. Upon seeing her, he was more than likely going to forget his first name. 

The date was initially set for that Saturday, but something came up that he couldn't put off, and Kouga immediately rescheduled for the next day. Kagome didn't seem to mind, but as a precaution, he intended to blow her away. Pulling up to her building, he parked his vehicle, smoothed his hair away from his face and preened the bouquet he carried, before proceeding inside. The building was modest, clearly the good bones of a once opulent hotel of some sort, and with ease, he found her apartment. Kouga paid before knocking, hoping she wouldn't be too mad at his lateness. Even if she was, he already planned to make it up to her.

* * *

"I don't know why you're working so hard on that makeup…" Sango began, her voice through the receiver sounding bored. "...it's just gonna end up on his pillowcase in a few hours."

Kagome jolted and gripped the pencil she was holding. "You can't say things like that when I'm putting on eyeliner!" She ignored her friend's laughter echoing over the phone as she tried to make the crooked line over her eye look somewhat intentional. She scowled at her phone, imagining that her friend could see her. "And I'm not just going to _ sleep _ with him."

Sango blew a raspberry, but the sound was distorted through the speakerphone. "You think I'm going to judge you? Me, who has wanted this for ages? Who is living vicariously through you even as we speak? I know those roses aren't the only stems he's been staring at. Good call wearing your 'sexy dress' today."

"You're being awfully hyperbolic for so early in the evening," Kagome stared back at her mirror, hoping Kouga wasn't a stickler for perfectly matched winged eyeliner.

"Alls I'm saying," Sango continued, pausing. "...is that you're acting a little...pastel. Cut it out."

"Is this...dishonest?I mean, you're his friend too..."

"What's dishonest about this? You're taking advice from a friend on how to not be a friend to another friend. If I were a glossy magazine, you wouldn't balk at my advice."

"That's easy for you to say. We can't all be ridiculously sexy like you," Kagome said, sticking her tongue out playfully at her phone.

"What are you even talking about?!"

"Don't act like you're not hot, Sango!"

"Oh honey," she said, feigning condescension. "If I'm hot, then I'm sorry to break it to you. We're on the same level."

The sound Kagome made in response made her glad she hadn't started on her lipstick yet. "Not even close. You're on a whole _ different _ level. Like...top floor penthouse level. I'm the janitor in the basement watching Judge Judy and eating chicken salad with too much onion in it."

"Are you _ quite _ finished?" Sango said after a break, and Kagome imagined her deadpan stare. " This whole 'I can't possibly take a compliment', thing. You gotta...you gotta cut that shit out."

"Excuse me-"

"You are way too smart to keep putting yourself down like this. You're smart and you're funny, and you're super cute. And-"Sango began, taking a breath and raising her voice. "You are my best friend! I won't let anyone talk about my best friend like that, so quit talking about my best friend like that!"

Kagome steadied her chin and exhaled, taken aback at the forceful manner that Sango spoke to her. She'd been scolded before, for incorrectly storing her needles, or letting clients talk down her already reasonable prices, but nothing that hit her so hard. Without knowing it, in an effort to remain humble, she'd snuffed herself out. She managed to compare herself to every person she stood next to,and instead of balancing herself, she tipped the scale in everyone else's favor, especially when they least deserved it. 

"...thank you…" she said, quietly, ashamed that she needed yet another pep talk.

"You are welcome," Sango said, resuming her normal tone. "Now...onto more important and pressing matters…"

"Okay-"

"What underwear are you wearing?"

* * *

"Gimme a sec!" Kouga heard from the other side of the door. The voice through the wood was desperate, and he heard some shuffling and heavy footsteps directly afterward. His shoulders relaxed, glad that his lateness was softened by Kagome's rushing around. He was listening for her footfall, when her door swung open, briefly shocking him.

Whipping the door open so quickly brought in a rush of air, blowing her long hair away from her face, and making her flutter her long eyelashes at him. Kagome beamed and tried not to look like she'd just run a mile. She stood a few inches taller, and when he looked down to inspect the added height, Kouga's eyes raked over her form. He tried to be discreet in his appraisal of her, but she made it difficult. Her attire wasn't formal, to Kouga's relief, and on nearly anyone else, it would have been a simple, black dress. The neckline was standard and left unadorned, save for a simple black tattoo at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, barely noticeable under the shadow of her hair. 

Where the dress ended made his passing glance move slower, and he hoped she didn't notice that he was staring. One end nearly reached the floor, and other stopped at her mid thigh, opening to reveal a long sweep of bare leg. The fleeting image of his hand sliding under the smooth fabric and palming her thigh made Kouga avert his eyes and pray his face (or any other part of his anatomy) didn't betray his thoughts. Instead of trying to speak, Kouga presented a bouquet to her, only somewhat bruised from the ride over. 

"For you," he finally said, finding his voice with some difficulty. "They're-"

"Peonies!" Kagome said excitedly. 

"You remembered…"

Kouga watched as Kagome ducked her head into her apartment and grimaced. "I'm just gonna...put these in some water. I'd invite you in, but it's a mess in here…"

"Take your time," he told her, before she disappeared inside. Kagome left the door slightly ajar, and the sound of running water came from a hidden kitchen area. She appeared a few moments later, looking a little less tense, but just as gorgeous, and closed her apartment door behind her. Over her shoulder was a small purse, the face of a winking, black cat. 

"You look amazing, as always."

Kagome looked like she wanted to object, but thanked him for the compliment. "I wasn't sure what to wear; someone wouldn't tell me where we're going…"

"You have your secrets, and I have mine."

"I have secrets?"

"Of course you do," he began, stopping to gaze at her when they reached the empty lobby. Kouga wanted to fold her into his arms the moment she answered the door, but feared coming on too strong, too soon. "One on your wrist, one on your neck…" he drawled, pausing in the vestibule of her building to slide a hand through her thick hair and drag the back of his fingers over her neck. Her reaction was to let her eyes fall closed and let loose a shaky breath, and Kouga resisted the urge to carry her back up to her apartment.

Kagome released a shaky laugh, but didn't move away from him. "Maybe you'll find out a secret or two before the night ends…"

The hand at Kagome's neck sunk deeper into her hair, and pulled her forward, the kiss unexpected but not unwelcome. Kouga hadn't meant to be so forceful so soon into their date, but the resolve he made alone at home held less weight upon seeing her. He willed himself to part from her, even after she stepped closer to deepen the kiss and he exhaled slowly to keep his mind in check. He had to remember their dinner reservation, his promise to take her on a nice date, and the resolve to not have another outdoor makeout session (unless she was willing). They parted, and he smiled sadly, remembering what was waiting for them outside.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, and he wished he didn't have to burst her bubble so quickly.

"I have some bad news about our...transportation for the night…" he confessed, looking through the lobby doors again. Kagome's eyes followed his, and to his surprise, she smiled and bolted for the door. The night air was slightly chilly as it hit his exposed face and hands, following after her.

"It was _ this _, or the delivery van, which smells of mulch-"

Kagome whirled to look at him, a look of slight shock on her face."Are you saying we're riding to dinner...on _ this _?"

Kouga was unprepared for the disbelief in her voice, and despite his clear admiration of her, and the very tempting outfit she wore, he always made it a point to nip a high maintenance date in the bud before it went too far. 

"Yes," He answered simply, ready if necessary to escort her back upstairs and end the night if she was unsatisfied by his humble vehicle. 

To Kouga's surprise, her smile grew impossibly wide, and she began jumping on the slightly damp pavement, before righting herself and brushing the front of her dress. She looked as though she wanted to stay calm, but the smile on her face betrayed her. "I'm so excited. I'm going on a date...on a _ bike _!"

Kouga exhaled, his laughter full of relief. "You're okay with this?" 

"Are you _ kidding _?! This is perfect!" she exclaimed, looking at his bike like it was a treasure. "Can I wear a helmet? Do you have a helmet for me to wear on a bike, on a date?!" When he fished out a helmet from his side bag, Kagome all but screamed and took it from him, and put it on her hand without hesitation. 

"I gotta say," Kouga began. "This was not the reaction I was expecting." He righted the helmet and buckled it under her chin.

"What reaction were you expecting?" 

"Not sure, but I'm glad you don't mind. Though, I should have expected you'd wear a dress…"

Kagome looked down at her dress and shrugged. "This? Don't worry about it." Once he helped her onto the bike, she sat up, getting comfortable. Her added height came from a pair of platform heels, in black that, despite their height, didn't seem to threaten Kagome's balance on the bike or otherwise. "See? It's the perfect dress for riding."

Kagome caught her words as they left her mouth, and grinned as her face grew red under the streetlights. 

As much as he wanted to tease her, he was distracted by the display of supple thigh draped over the leather seat of his bike, and merely smirked at her. "We'll see about that."

Once seated on the bike in front of her, Kouga could feel the embarrassment rolling off of her as she wrapped her arms around his torso, and he held them in place to reassure her. She was too much fun to goad, and made it so easy for him. Despite her excitement at riding a bike (or glorified moped, as he saw it), her thighs still tightened their grip on the seat behind him, and, when he took a particularly sharp corner, she would release a barely audible squeak. Kouga wondered if there was anything she could do that night that _ wouldn't _ send his mind reeling toward the gutter.

They arrived to a bustling hotel, and as she shed her helmet, Kouga could tell she was confused. The hotel was grand and boasted a beautiful restaurant inside, but he led her to a side entrance after parking his bike. Once inside, Kouga led Kagome down a long hallway to one of the hotel's banquet rooms. The event in question was filled with people, all dressed formally, some mingling at large tables, and others sitting at smaller, intimate dining areas.

Before Kagome could ask what they were doing at what looked like an exclusive event, Kouga was approached by a man in a stately tuxedo. Once he gave his first and last name, the pair were escorted to a tall, glass table with high back chairs. Kouga helped Kagome into her seat before taking his own, and they were handed crisp white menus. Once left alone, Kagome leaned forward and whispered over their floral centerpiece.

"What is this? Are we crashing a _ wedding _?" Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the formally dressed diner's and fancy decor.

"Not quite."

Moments later a waitress approached the table, smiling at the couple. "Welcome to Chef Week; is this your first dining experience with us?"

Kouga looked to Kagome, whose eyes widened at the revelation of where she was. Speaking on behalf of them both, he told her that it was a first time for them, and he listened as she explained the menus. Five prestigious chefs each prepared a menu and for a flat fee, diners could pick one, as well as accompanying wines and desserts. Even after the explanation, Kagome was still stunned into silence, and Kouga ordered a bottle of red wine for the table. The waitress left, and Kagome resumed her hushed tone.

"How did you get tickets to Chef Week?!"

Kouga shrugged, knowing his answer wouldn't satiate her curiosity. "I know people."

He was right,and Kagome shook her head vigorously. "Not buying it; I've been trying for years to get tickets. They always sell out right away."

Kouga sat back, looking satisfied at his own secret. After a few more seconds of pleading, he gave in, nodding his head toward the center of their table. Kagome furrowed her brow, and he repeated the motion. She finally followed his gaze, and but remained confused. "Let's talk about something else," he suggested. "These centerpieces are interesting."

Kagome tried to linger on the subject, but sighed and gave in to more casual conversation. "I like that they're not too tall. I hate looking around a centerpiece to talk to someone."

"That was probably intentional."

"And the peonies are really beautiful."

"I thought you'd like them…"

Kagome's eyebrows slowly rose as she made the connection. Gently, she dug through the flowers and fished out a familiar, soft blue business card, and held it up.

"This is your business card!" she gasped. "Did you do this?!"

Kouga tried to fight a smile as she looked around the room at each table, adorned with a cacophony of blooms, all in soft pinks, violets and whites to compliment the room. Their table, she noticed, was the only one with peonies. Their waitress filled their glasses and took their entree orders. Kagome chose the menu from a local, acclaimed Japanese chef, and Kouga chose that from a local steakhouse. Once they were left alone again, Kagome's excitement resumed. 

"This is really amazing! How...how did-"

"_ Your _ community fair. The event planner's first choice cancelled on him, and decided to go with a local business." 

"There are, like, a _ thousand _ tables in here-"

"74-"

"-and you...did _ all _ of this." She glanced around the room again, and sighed. "I'm… very proud of you."

Kouga was taken aback at her reaction, for the second time that night. He knew she would be happy that her hard work paid off, but her happiness in _ his _ good news was surprising, though it shouldn't have been. Kagome clearly had a big heart and he was just happy she made room for him in it. "I have you to thank. For not letting me give up so easily." He moved his hand over the linen tablecloth and let it move over hers.

"My pleasure," she replied, squeezing his hand, and running her thumb over his knuckles. "So, I'm assuming that you're _ not _ moving…?"

Kouga chuckled. "Not anytime soon. I already got a phone call from the police commissioner about her daughter's wedding next year, so…"

"Congratulations…" Kagome sighed, twirling her wine glass with her other hand.

"What? You don't believe me?"

"Well, what if you get too famous, and decide to move anyway? To some swanky new shop downtown with a coffee shop in the lobby, or something?"

"I doubt that'll happen. Besides, I've come to enjoy the view from my shop window." He stared knowingly at her over the rim of his wine glass.

"Really? My chair also has an interesting view. I'd hate to lose it."

"I don't think you will."

___________

"So," Kagome began, after a mouthful of her serving of Anmitsu. The consistency was unusual, but she found the taste interesting, and just sweet enough to satisfy her sweet tooth. "How does one become a...decorative horticulturist?"

"Did you just make my job as a florist sound much smarter than it is?" Kouga asked, laughing.

"Hey, you're smart! You helped me keep my orchid alive for a whole week! That's four days longer than my last orchid!"

"Yeah, but I'm basically-wait did you kill an orchid in _ three _ days? How... _ how _?"

"I didn't know you weren't supposed to _ water _ them…hey, stop laughing!" If she weren't at a fancy function in her fanciest dress, Kagome might have flicked water across the table at him. "Come on, I need to know."

"You _ need _ to know?"

"Yeah; you don't exactly look like a typical florist." Kouga rose an eyebrow at this and Kagome felt the need to explain. "When I was a kid, our local florist was this eighty year old woman, who wore thick rimmed glasses and slippers. You're..."

"Not eighty?" he suggested, that wolfish grin making her stomach flutter.

"You are...very attractive. Distractingly so." At rendering Kouga momentarily silences, she went on. "Sometimes, I'll make a list of the exact flowers I need before I walk across the street, but I see you, and just...forget everything in my brain."

"I could wear glasses and slippers if that helps." Kagome laughed at the image, but didn't let him change the subject. "Okay, okay...my grandma, kind of. She wasn't a florist, or anything, but she had a green thumb like no one I've ever known. We'd go on walks around our neighborhood, and she could identify any plant she came across. Even _ weeds _.

"In middle school, I kind of started getting into trouble. Nothing criminal; skipping school and stuff. My parents made me spend the summer with my grandma, and she spent everyday in her garden, rain or shine."

"Did you like it?"

"I _ hated _ it!" Kagome guffawed, and he continued. "She was great and everything, but she'd send me to the nursery _ everyday _ for potting soil, or seeds or planters. I couldn't wait for summer to be over. 

"When I went back to school, I tried hangin' with my old friends again. But, I dunno, starting fights wasn't as much fun anymore. I'd get mad and find myself turning up soil in my backyard instead." 

"My mom used to say being in her garden was like therapy," Kagome added.

"I get that." Their dessert plates were cleared and decided to linger for a while longer. "That's my story; digging in the dirt helped me get over my prepubescent angst, and I never really got any other job after that. What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, how'd you find yourself in the art of body modification."

"Touche."

"I try."

"Well...I went to college for illustration, found out that it bored me to death, and through some friends, I met Sango. She asked if I ever thought about tattooing, and the rest is history."

"What was your first tattoo?"

Kagome laughed. "A beauty mark."

"_ Really_?"

"For an aspiring model. It took a lot longer than you'd think."

"Do you ever get weird requests?"

"Unfortunately. It comes with being a woman in an industry where you're obligated to look at people's skin."

"I'm sorry." Kouga cleared his throat and directed the conversation in another direction. The din of the room was quieter now, with some couples and parties abandoning the venue. Even so, he moved his chair closer to her, draped an arm over the back of her chair casually, and spoke in a lower tone. "So, in your professional opinion, if someone were to get their first tattoo, what's a good place? On the body, I mean."

Kagome leaned back in her chair, brushing her shoulder against his arm. "Well, the arms are always a safe bet. Or the upper back. I usually try to tat virgin skin there, if I can."

"_ Virgin _ skin? Does that apply to me?"

"Kouga…"

"Because I don't know what face paint you used, but I had a hard time getting that blue off my arm. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to mark me. You know, claim your territory…" her arm lay on the tabletop, and Kouga dragged a knuckle over the expanse of flesh until he reached her neck again. He couldn't explain why, but it called to him, and he moved her dark hair, tinged with pink away from her shoulder. The mystery tattoo on her neck was revealed: a simple black bow and arrow, crossed at perpendicular angles. 

Kagome exhaled shakily, closing her eyes and revealing in his warm hands on her flesh again. "Do you enjoy finding innuendo in everything I say?"

"It's very satisfying getting you all riled up." He pressed a thumb over the tip of the arrow on her neck. "What's this mean?"

"I took archery in high school," she breathed. 

Kouga nodded at her confession. "I'd like to hear more about that…" he drawled into her ear.

Kagome swallowed her last bit of trepidation. "We could talk...at my place?" She met his eyes and realized how close they sat. She could feel his breath on her neck, and it made thinking and speaking difficult.

"I'd like that even more."

____________________________________

There was a distinct chill in the air when they arrived at Kagome's apartment, and neither could tell if it was a change in the weather, or the tension that was building between them. Kouga dismounted the bike first, and helped lift Kagome off the seat, his hands at her hips. Kagome moved her hands over his arms, cursing the leather jacket that covered them, before twining them behind his neck. He made up for their difference in height and bent to capture her lips without hesitation. One hand pressed against the small of her back, bringing her middle flush against him. Even as she exposed her neck to him, her conscience begged her to drag him inside, undress him properly and finally put her nervousness (and essentially Kouga) to bed. But, his hands ghosting over the swell of her backside kept her in place, and she inhaled his deep, woodsy musk as they deepened the kiss. When his strong hands slid under her thighs and deposited her back onto the seat of his bike, she was done for. Passersby be damned, she was going to soak up whatever he gave her.

When she felt a draft on her leg, Kagome guessed it was an arrant breeze taking advantage of her exposed skin. When her neck and shoulder cooled, she blamed the beads of sweat that had to be gathering there. But, when Kouga parted from her and she opened her eyes to find them both drenched, Kagome had to laugh. The sky opened, lightning boomed in the distance and people ran past them, using anything they could find to protect their heads from the sudden storm. To her relief, Kouga also seemed to be in good humor, laughing at the circumstances and moving them both toward her apartment lobby.

Once inside, both of their shoes and clothes squeaked and sloshed up to her apartment, unlocking the door clumsily. Kagome winced at the mess, and wished that she'd taken a few minutes to tidy up before leaving for the night. She rented a studio apartment, but managed to section off different parts to make it appear bigger. The front door opened to a narrow hallway, with the bathroom to the left and her washer and dryer behind a door to the right. An idea came to her mind, and she only voiced it after she turned to Kouga, and began peeling his jacket off his shoulders.

"I have a dryer...for clothes...," she rasped, the realization that neither of them needed to catch cold in sopping wet clothes sounding much more articulate in her head. With his shoulders revealed, however, Kagome found that his jacket kept him mostly dry; only the front of his shirt was darkened with rainwater.

She, on the other hand, felt her clothes drag with the added weight, and an involuntary shiver wracked her body. The lines of her bra and underwear, once safe under the black dress, were now on display, and she wanted to wrap herself in a warm towel as soon as possible. She didn't even want to imagine the state of her hair and makeup. 

"You should get dry," Kouga said, his voice coming out strained and deep, helping to warm at least parts of Kagome's body, even as she shivered next to him. Despite the fact that he was mostly untouched by the rain, he removed his jacket and began work on the buttons of his shirt. The more of his tanned chest that he revealed, the more uncomfortable Kagome's dress became, until she was itching to tear it off. As her own hand fingered the high hem of her dress, an audible pop sounded above their hands and the small apartment was shrouded in darkness. 

Her dim hallway didn't boast much light, but what she could make out of Kouga's face was unlike any expression she'd seen him wear. He looked almost hungry, and when he pushed her further into her home, she did not object. Her living area and bedroom were one, separated only by a small table and a pair of chairs. Her bed was wide, and before she knew it, they stood before her it, her knees threatening to give out. 

Letting an exasperated huff leave her, Kagome's shoulders fell. "So much for being dry and warm."

"I can do something about that," Kouga growled, delaying his movements for only second, in case of any objection, before moving Kagome's wet dress over her thighs, hips, torso, and finally peeling it away from her face. Her arms remained over her head, only to fall again to his shoulders. She wanted to press the planes of her body against him, but she could follow his gaze, even in partial darkness. He searched for the ink she'd kept hidden from the world, and while her first instinct was to hide, she left herself open to his perusal. Kouga guided her back onto her bed, moving over her like warm water, and making her eyes fall closed.

Kagome felt him still over her, a sharp contrast to his fluid movements only moments ago. Before she could speak and inquire what was wrong, he beat her to it.

"Can I...see you?"

Kagome exhaled and tried not to shudder. She wasn't particularly surprised at the request. The window at the head of her bed only let in so much light, even in the daytime, and at night only an eerie glow caught Kouga's hair and the planes of her exposed skin. Despite the darkness of the small studio apartment, Kouga's fingers moved deftly, over her thighs and across her stomach. Under the cover of the dark, she felt safe, but even she wanted to see if Kouga's body fit the description of her fantasies. The hand that rested on his muscular side was only telling her so much. 

Kagome slid from under him and a draft ghosted over her exposed chest. She took advantage of the last moments of darkness, and moved her rumpled blanket away from her. Somewhere on the other side of the room was a flashlight she hadn't used in months, and the only light left came from the window over her bed, sending long shadows over the walls. Twisting toward her nightstand, she pulled the cord on the side, and parted her thin curtains, wincing as the dim light that filled the dark corner of her apartment. Before she could settle again on her back, Kouga was already palming her side, thumbing the line made by her black bra. From underneath the black lace peeked the petals of a pink flower, spotted with black and accented with a single green leaf. The petals were outlined with black ink, and as far as the rest of her tattoos were concerned, it was small, faded and not the best, artistically. It was also her first, and thus meant the most. 

With the side of her face pressed against her pillow, she didn't see the way he gazed over the lines of her flower tattoo, but the feeling of his lips over her exposed skin was enough to make her jump. One hand supported her back, holding her close to him, and the other crept under the strap of her bra and stayed there, effectively torturing her. 

"Stargazer lilies...Lilium orientalis…" he whispered against her skin, cleay smiling. "Pretending not to know your favorite flower. Very clever…"

Kagome breathed out a broken laugh, too distracted by the warm lips moving over her to worry how she sounded. "I had to throw you off somehow." Just as she thought she obtained the upper hand, his hand slid over the swell of her breast, and another unflatteringly deep groan left her. Her bra was still on, and pressed his hand against her even more. The hand at her back plucked at a dermal as he moved to lean over her, and the hair from his ponytail tickled her chest.

His path was deliberate, charting the same course as the ink on her skin. Over her sternum were the delicate lines of a mandala, with an asymmetrical jewel at the bottom and a lotus blooming around it. The shading on each petal was made up of singular dots, ranging in size, keeping the tattoo from looking heavy. Aside from her own in the dark of her night and the privacy of her home, any touch there was foreign and new to her, and Kagome wondered how she went months without it. She knew it was partly due to her trepidation at exposing herself to anyone, but as Kouga's hand had yet to move away in horror, she figured that he was as satisfied as she was. The hand pressed against her tried to move, but with her bra latched, there was little place to go, and Kouga settled for squeezing her soft flesh instead. A whine escaped her; she hadn't realized how much she missed this, but it was barely enough. She could feel that he fingered her nipple with some curiosity, wondering in the dark at the strange addition to her body.

A sudden rush of adrenaline overtook her, and instead of waiting on Kouga, who was busy leaving evidence of his presence at the junction of her neck and jaw, she pushed her body up against him, prompting him to sit back, but to bring her with him. Kouga took the hint, and pulled her into a sitting position and sat back himself, the air between them thick and heavy. One hand reached between her breasts and made quick work of her bra, the black lacy garment picked for its comfort and ease of removal. She also hoped that Kouga had an affinity for black lace, but if his hand moving back and forth over her hip was any indication, she was right. Kagome's bra hung from her shoulders and caught at the bend of her elbows, the skin on her sternum left exposed, and the feeling of being _ almost _ naked was surprisingly exhilarating. Kouga's touch was light, and he met her eyes momentarily, seeking permission. She wanted to be bold, and move her hand as they both wanted it, but timidity took over and she only exhaled and closed her eyes. If his repulsion was as sudden as she feared, Kagome didn't want to actually see it. Her curiosity got the best of her and after a beat of stillness between them, she heaved a sigh and looked in his eyes.

Which were not focused on her.

Kouga sat, as bare-chested and disheveled as she, staring at her naked chest in wonder and slight disbelief. One hand stayed at her hip and the other made slow passes over the underside of her breast, keeping her from concentrating. Her breath came out in ragged puffs at his slow pace. The warmth of his hands was tempting, and she found herself wishing he would spread out over her, cover her with his warmth and possibly make her forget her name. 

Kagome was glad to find that she didn't lose much sensitivity in piercing her nipples, but had yet to test them out on anyone else. They used to sport twin bars of very ordinary silver, but the black crescent moons were new, and while she wouldn't admit to wearing them _ for _ Kouga, she also didn't see any reason in changing them out either.

"I...I'm…"

"Surprised?" she suggested hopefully. If he didn't hear her heart pounding now, she'd be shocked. It was nearly deafening to her.

"_ Very _," he growled. Kagome caught a flash of something in his eye before the trance was broken and his mouth was on her collarbone again, tugging at the dermal piercing there. A thumb swept over her left nipple, plucking at the tip there and sending her into another flush of heat. She guessed he was testing her comfort at their being touched; his eyes before were hungry, and she could see him restraining himself. With one hand she pressed his hand harder over her breast and the other set to work releasing his hair from its confines. The dark, silky strands fell over his shoulders and cooled her neck, and she weaved her hands through it until she found enough purchase. Kouga seemed to follow the signals her body gave him and began a slow path down her chest. She felt him lay her down just as his lips descended on her breast, sending her back into an arch and pressing her head back onto her pillow. His tongue was warm, the metal of her piercing was cool, and the contrasting feeling was more than she was expecting. She tried to slide her hand in between them to relieve some of the pressure, but Kouga caught the movement, and grasped her wrist. He stilled her hand and brought it over her head, his first act of dominance since they surrendered to her bed. As much as his softness and caution with her was appreciated, the weight on her wrists and hips made her clench in anticipation.

Kouga moved his skillful mouth moved from her breasts to her neck, showering her with praise any moment he came up for air, and in response she bucked against him, soaking in the attention and still pushing for more. She was never a demanding lover; she often took what she got, and after her last relationship, her opinion of what a bedmate could (or should) deliver was limited. Kouga, on the other hand, clearly had a penchant for pushing her out of her comfort zone, only to pull back and leave her aching for more. As much as she wanted to vocalize her needs and confirmations of all that he was doing right, her voice only released breathy moans and gasps. 

"So beautiful," Kouga whispered harshly into her hair, his voice strained.

She was finally betrayed when Kouga's thumb found the juncture of her legs, petal soft and warm, damp through her dark underwear. Gripping his biceps, Kagome gave herself leverage to buck against him, both frustrated and exhilarated that his hard body barely budged over her. Against her will, she whined, and brought one thigh to rest over his hip, hoping the movement would release some of her anguish. Sending the direction of her thoughts, Kouga rewarded her by moving the scrap of fabric aside, but keeping his hand in place, strumming roughly over the bundle of nerves now bare to him. Kagome's whine reached a crescendo, and in her state of distraction, she felt something firm and hot slide over the spot where his hand once rested. She stilled for the span of a heartbeat, and moved against him.

Kouga pulled her up again, and this time, righted her on his lap, and felt Kagome's smooth legs wrap around him and pull him into the cradle of her hips. She had to know, he reasoned, how much he wanted her. He tried to make it abundantly clear how beautiful he found every inch of her skin; marked, pierced, or otherwise. He paused to run a hand over the valley of her breasts and down her side to rest at the swell of her hip. He wanted to linger over her body and praise each curve and bend until the sun rose and she begged to have him. But the desire sat hot and urgent over his belly, begging for some release. One hand palmed her hip to keep her in place, and the mother positioned his straining girth as an apology tumbled clumsily from his lips.

"I'm sorry I...wanted to..._ slowly… _" Kouga struggled through his broken sentences, and breathed harshly between words. The grip at her hip grew tighter, and Kagome winced in his ear.

Moving with purpose, Kagome's hand fell over his; her attempt to quiet any doubts he had over her comfort. Meeting his eyes in the dark, she rocked back and forth, shaking at the intrusion, but welcoming it all the same. She bit her lip at the initial stretch and sting, but moved forward until her body was flush with his. Kagome looked down between them; the sparse light in the room not giving her much to see, but satisfied knowing there was nothing keeping them apart. It felt akin to exhilaration of sitting in a tattoo chair on impulse; the familiar bite of the needle against her skin, the sting and rush of blood, and barely-there pain, followed by a need for more.

Once buried to the hilt, Kouga released a breath, and with it, praise and encouragement. With each moan of longing he bucked his hips, sliding up and deeper inside her. With each stroke, Kagome gasped pushed back against him, causing him to groan into her neck and chest. He willed himself to remember that she was small. Fiery and beautiful, but small. Supple, and warm and _ tight _, but small. He wanted to be careful and deliberate, but the farther she took him in, the less resolve he could muster. 

Their shared intimacy came as a shock to her. Though his rhythm was steady and his focus sharp, Kouga never neglected her comfort. On his ragged breath, he told her, with no shortage of detail, how beautiful and desired she was. He let her set the pace and coaxed her forward with his hands at her thighs and waist. And when Kagome changed the angle of her hips, Kouga moaned and gasped at their lushness, and pumped into her faster, harder.

"Kagome..." he growled, and she responded by pushing against him desperately, the tight coil building low in her abdomen. Together, their movements become frantic and fell out of sync as they refused to slow or stop until the other was satiated. 

Kagome wanted to watch him come apart. She willed her eyes to stay open, and focused on him until he reached his release. But, as her toes curled achingly, and her back arched, Kagome squeezed her eyes and walls tight, watching as colors and light exploded behind her eyelids. Kouga, took advantage of her climax and held her hips with bruising force, pulling her back on to him, once, twice, three times before following her to release. 

Kouga collapsed and fell to the side, pulling Kagome down to the softness of her own blankets with him. She whimpered softly when he slid out of her, but soon found herself enveloped his arms, her head nestled under his chin and over his rapidly rising and falling chest. Draping a blanket over them both, Kouga ran his fingers through Kagome's thick (and know somewhat tangled) hair, until he felt her breathing even and her body go limp under his. 

Exhaustion finally claimed him, and Kouga pressed a kiss to Kagome's forehead before falling asleep himself. 

_______________________

Kagome pried one eye open and silently cursed the sun. From where she lay, her alarm clock blinked at her with angry red numbers, telling her that the electricity returned sometime that night, while she slept. The night crept back to her as she answered her phone. 

"'Ello?" she rasped, rubbing her bare shoulder. 

"Morning, my little sexpot."

Kagome shot up and finally noticed the sun beaming into her studio apartment. It filled every corner of the once dark space, and she knew, for sure, that she was late. "Sango! Oh God, I'm so sorry-"

Sango laughed into the receiver. "Don't sweat it; I was calling to tell you to take the day off. Though your absence is enough to let me know you probably need it."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise!" She groaned at her tardiness, but also the warm hand that slid over her hip and stomach. Every moment from the night before crashed down on her at once, and Kagome fell back on her pillow. 

"Nah. I'm gonna take a page from your book and get some… _ cleaning _ done around here."

Kagome hesitated, happy to get some rest, but upset at herself for not giving Sango any warning. She fought a giggle as Kouga's mouth descended on her neck and she struggled to squirm away from him. "If you're sure-"

"I am. _ Very _." 

"I'll call you later," Kagome promised, pushing at the face at her neck. 

"Uh huh…" Sango replied, the playful teasing returning to her voice. "How was your date?"

"Very nice, " she reasoned, knowing Kouga's sharp ears were tinted to her conversation. 

"And dessert?" Sango wanted to press for more, but could practically hear her friends blushing furiously through the phone. 

"_ Great _. "

"Scale of one to ten?"

Kagome paused. "What time is it?" 

"Half passed eleven- oh I see what you did there! My smart little sexpot-"

"I'll call you later," she repeated. 

"You better-" Kagome ended the call before she was further embarrassed, but the wide grin on Kouga's face told her that he'd heard enough. Before she could utter so much as a "Good Morning", he spoke, his voice like honey in her ears. 

"Eleven and a half, huh?" Kouga asked, sliding a hand over her thigh, and bringing her close to him again. She batted at his hands softly but didn't fight the embrace, even as he buried his face in her neck. 

"I was asking for the time…" Kagome pleaded. 

"I think," Kouga began, moving over Kagome and settling himself between her legs. She moaned at the pressure and sighed at its familiarity. "It's time I inspect these body modifications a bit closer… if you don't mind."

"Not at all, " Kagome replied, succumbing to his embrace again, her apartment filled with the sounds of laughter and ecstasy, the rustle of bodies moving over one another, the bright light, leaving nothing hidden between them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHEMGEE. I can't believe I wrote that. I've been agonizing how to write this chapter for months, and I debated changing the rating forever. Somehow last night, 4k words jumped outta me, and I still don't know if it *works*. I hope you guys love it!!


	5. Chapter Five

"Mmm, okay I  _ really _ have to go…" Kagome slid her hand from Kouga's shoulders and made a sad attempt at pushing against his chest.

"Do you?" he drawled, leaving slow kisses from the base of her neck to her collarbone. "Do you really have to go  _ now _ ?"

Kagome's hands left Kouga's body and fell to both of her sides, pushing down on the wooden table she was perched on. The rough surface brushed against her hands as she gripped the table and let her head fall back. Immediately, a number of excuses passed through her mind; she could tell Sango she had a stomach bug, or that her apartment flooded, or that her mom was coming into town. She was granted one day off work to lose herself in the sheets with Kouga, but two would be pushing it. Sango was her friend, but she was also a business owner, and she couldn't let sentimentality get in the way of paying the rent.

Kagome licked her lips and exhaled. " _ No _ ...I had to go half an hour ago to set up my station, and now, I'm officially late." Even as she spoke, her legs snaked around Kouga's waist, contradicting everything she told him. 

Kouga moved the curtain of her hair from Kagome's neck and focused on her jaw. "Well if you're already late…"

Kagome moaned and arched her back, half from arousal and the other half knowing she could do little about it. "I'm not calling out; I already didn't go in yesterday," she whispered, already trying to extract herself from him.

"Was it worth it?" he asked into her ear, staying planted between her legs.

"I know what you're trying to do."

"I'm asking a very simple question."

Kagome narrowed her eyes, but kissed his cheek anyway. " _ Absolutely _ . But, if I want to pay rent this month, I need to go to work."

"I can fix that." Kouga stayed put, and Kagome tried to keep her gaze anywhere but his mouth. It was very convincing, even when he wasn't speaking. 

"Oh yeah; you know my landlord?"

Shrugging, Kouga backed away from her only an inch. "No, you can just move in with me."

"Very funny." Kagome laughed, and waited for him to do the same. Seconds of silence passed between them, and Kagome's grin slowly fell. Her eyebrow arched and her chin dropped, realizing that he was not joking. "Kouga-"

"Yes?" His telltale grin was back, along with the playfulness in his voice.

Kagome pointed a wide-eyed look at him, pleading for him to answer her honestly. "Be serious."

"I am." 

"We've been on one date…" The excuse sounded lame even to her own ears, and though her level of devotion wasn't as strong as Kouga's, she certainly spent the past two days wondering why she hadn't asked him out sooner.

"We can go on more," Kouga answered simply.

"I…"

"If you wanna go slow, that's okay, too. I won't rush you." Kouga tried to reassure her, moving his hands up and down her arms. "But, if it were up to me, I'd have made you mine the first day we met."

"You can't mean that…" she breathed, fear making her words come out quieter than she wanted.

She thought about Kouga's eyes instead of looking into them, knowing what she'd find looking back at her. They were clear blue and honest. The humor in his voice was gone, and Kagome felt her neck heat up at the thought, despite the cool air in the room. The first time he looked at her like that it was not lost on her.

_ She tried to excuse it with the brightness of her room, the morning afterglow that followed a pleasurable night. They lay tangled in Kagome's sheets, Kagome on her back, with Kouga's warm knee nestled between her thighs. The sun filtered in through her window, lighting the room and warming the air. Drifting closer to slumber, Kagome ran a hand over Kouga's head and through his inky black hair. The gesture roused him as well, and he rolled his neck before settling back on the pillow next to her. Kagome watched his eyes drink in the lines of her face, the curves of her neck and shoulders not hidden by a blanket, and tried not to blush at the perusal. At some point, his gaze flicked to the wall over her shoulder, and then about the room. Her own eyes fell shut, and Kagome felt the bed shift under her as he moved to hover over her. She was on the edges of sleep when Kouga sat over her, one hand at her covered waist and the other snaking behind her neck. As much as she would rather feel his body and warmth flush against her, she couldn't complain about the view. Even as she appreciated the partially draped form of his well-sculpted physique, Kagome couldn't help but notice that he seemed thoroughly distracted. He looked at every wall of her apartment, and she briefly wondered if she forgot to dust. _

_ Craning her neck to focus on what he was looking at, Kagome was brought back to the present by his eyes. He stared at her with such intensity that Kagome found herself wondering if he could hear her thoughts. _

_ "Did you...keep all of them? The flowers?" he asked, his voice gravely and low, leaving Kagome to wonder if she should be concerned or aroused. _

_ Looking around, for the first time, Kagome realized how many of her surfaces were covered in Kouga's floral gifts, namely, all of them. On her modest dining room table were the freshest and most recent blooms, the peonies Kouga brought from the night prior, as well as a large bouquet of sunflowers, each in their respective vases. Along her meager kitchen counter were smaller glass vases and mason jars, filled with dahlias, carnations, and daisies in a variety of colors. The remaining surfaces of her apartment held wrapped and dried bundles of older offerings, long past their bloom. On the nightstand next to her bed were a few dehydrated sprigs of lavender and baby's breath, having dropped seeds and tiny petals on the nightstand and floor. _

_ Kagome tried to look away, embarrassment starting to show in the redness of her neck and ears. The hand at her neck and chin moved along her jaw, and directed her eyes to meet his.  _

_ Where she saw passion and untapped hunger the night before, they were replaced with something warm and inviting. She wanted to ask him why the sight of his flowers made him so serious. All rational thought and attempts at speaking left her when he finally slid his chest over hers, lovingly covering her body and lips with his own. Kagome moaned against him when a hand slid over her thigh and down her knee, wrapping it around Kouga's hip. His weight over her was already comfortable and familiar, and without thinking, Kagome rolled her hips against him, delighted with his reaction. The hand at her neck was warm, sliding past her collarbone and the swell of her breast to pull impatiently at her nipple. Kagome broke from Kouga's lips to moan louder this time, turning her head and bringing his lips to her neck. Kouga began moving against her, his hand coming between them to position his head at her opening.  _

_ Kouga groaned as he entered her, his breath hot and ragged against her neck. Kagome whined and shook under him, adjusting to his girth. The stretch and push was nothing short of delicious, combined with his attention to her chest and neck. Willing the haze of her mind to clear, Kagome tilted her hips up, and Kouga reacted with a nip to the column of her neck. His wide tongue soothed the tiny hurt, but Kagome found that she didn't mind it. The thought of Kouga using his teeth on her made her clench around him, and shuddered against her, but kept his pace slow and driving. _

_ Though his speed was markedly slower than the night prior, Kagome had no reason for complaint. While his previously fevered thrusts pushed and pulled her toward climax, the methodical roll of his hips against hers, nudged her there with more passion that she was used to. Every brush of his hand over her skin and shift of his body against hers felt purposeful and fueled by an emotion Kagome was too afraid to put a name to. Ignoring the prick of tears in the corners of her eyes, Kagome shifted her focus back to Kouga. His firm body was flush with hers, depriving her of the sight of his wide shoulders and muscular torso. The wide curve of her thigh hid his hips from her view, but the pleasure they provided was clear. Kagome moved below him with ease as they matched rhythms seamlessly, and her eyes drifted shut while her hands clutched at the sheets under her.  _

_ The words at the edge of her voice still frightened her, so instead she called his name, pleaded for release and praised him when he responded to her body. Kagome's jaw and eyes clenched shut as she felt her orgasm build, and when the coil in her snapped, she constricted around him so tightly, she thought she might have to apologize later. Kouga sped up in his budding release, holding her as tight against him as possible, while still allowing them both to draw breath.  _

_ Tumbling into ecstasy only moments after her, Kouga panted and tried to keep his weight from crushing her. Kagome felt him moving the sticky strands of her hair away from her neck, before burying his face there. Kagome clung to his neck with both arms, but his hands made a sweeping exploration of every bit of skin he could reach. She could feel the weight of him shift; he was trying to resist falling asleep, but she encouraged it, rubbing circles into the planes of his broad back. _

_ He mumbled something into her hair, and Kagome moved aside to better hear him. _

_ "Kouga", she began to ask, looking down at his face, softened with content and sleep. "I can't hear you. What was-" _

_ "I said,...ove you'". _

_ The weight of him intensified as he suddenly fell asleep over her, his face falling back to the juncture of her neck and jaw. After remaining still for a moment, half from shock, and the other half from being completely pinned, Kagome slid from under him to lay at his side, and stared at his face before sleep began to make her own eyes heavy. Her tired mind reasoned that he was merely buzzing with the afterglow of sex, and apparently very tired. She didn't want to read into anything without thinking it over with a clear mind. Kagome needed to rest before making any assumptions.  _

_ But when Kouga's arm reached out to pull her against him, Kagome let his words wash over her as she fell asleep, too tired to doubt their sincerity.  _

"You can't mean that…" she breathed, fear making her words come out quieter than she wanted.

She was glad that he didn't seem offended by her excuses, but maybe, she reasoned, he knew that  _ she _ wasn't serious either. "If that's what you need to tell yourself, but I'm ready when you are." Instead of fighting it, Kagome fell into his chest when he tugged at her arms. His broad chest was quickly becoming her favorite place, and minutes ticked by before she spoke again, her voice sleepy.

"Next thing I know you'll be designing a tattoo for me…" she said, into his shirt, inhaling the sharp scent of potting soil.

"I still think a few more lilies right here," he said, moving his hand down her sides, satisfied with the sigh that resulted. "...perfect."

"Is that so?" Kagome smiled, happy that he remembered her tattoos well enough to find them over her clothes. 

The flower shop was kept cool, for the sake of the flowers and plants, and in her outfit for the day made a chill pass over her legs and arms. The day was warm, and Kagome abandoned her long sleeves and opaque tights, for a breezy, black romper. It exposed more of her tattoos than she usually wanted, but it spent more time on a hanger in her closet than on her own back. After a weekend of having her tattoos and mods worshipped and adored, she felt a little better revealing them to the world.

"Then again," he began, circling to stand behind her, his warm hands massaging her mid back, and moving up to her shoulders. The fabric of her romper was thin enough to accommodate the warm weather, and she shivered despite the warmth of his hands. "Your back is so beautiful….maybe just leave it bare-"

"Except for the dermals?" Kagome couldn't help but tease him. He wasn't as easy to goad as she, but she still knew what made him weak. The sudden movement of his hands from her shoulders to the clothed part of her back that held the piercings in question, was answer enough. 

"Oh, the  _ dermals _ ," Kouga sighed dramatically, pressing his thumbs to her back as she arched against him. Kagome held on to her upper hand only slightly, having confessed that her dermals were somewhat sensitive, and Kouga used this knowledge against her whenever he could, which was often. "My new best friends."

"You're ridiculous," Kagome laughed, trying her best to hide a sigh.

"And you..." he began, answering the siren song of her partially exposed neck. "...are  _ so _ sexy."

"I know that tone," Kagome started, resisting the urge to push back against him. "I have to go."

Kouga groaned behind her, and slid a hand down her exposed arm. "You've been sighing and shivering all morning. I think you ought to call in sick."

"We're not all gainfully self-employed, like yourself," she countered. "I have clients who need my help with altering their body."

"And I... "Kouga responded, his voic sliding over her like a warm hand. "...need  _ your _ body."

"Is that all?" Kagome tried to sound offended, but the thought of Kouga needing anything for her was enough to break her resolve. She let her head fall back to rest on his shoulder, exposing her neck to him. A guttural sound came from behind her before he spoke, both causing a chill to go down her spine.

"Of course not. Your riveting conversation and discourse on line weight and color theory is also rather captivating." Kouga interrupted every few words by peppering her neck with kisses.

"Now you're just making fun of me…" she sighed, pressing back against him. 

"Never," Kouga hissed into her ear. His grip on her waist would be deadly to anyone else, but for her, it felt a lot like foreplay. 

"I'll see you tonight."

Kouga settled with taking a half step back, and turning her around, letting his hands rest on her side, remembering the feel of her bare skin there. "If you insist," he sighed, planting himself in front of her. 

Kagome was now wedged between Kouga and the table, and the full scope of his body almost made her knees buckle. They'd walked to his shop from his place an hour earlier, under the guise of making sure a delivery Kouga was expecting arrived intact. When he hoisted her onto the table in the back of his flower shop, she'd almost let time slip away from her completely. Even after spending most of the weekend with him, she was still in awe of his body, and how he could make hers react. After staring each other down (and contemplating asking him to place her back on the table), Kagome bit her lip and moved sideways, busying herself with getting her bag ready.

Upon standing to her full height, Kagome moved to the door, sure that if she lingered for a moment longer, Kouga might actually convince her to skip work for the day. The bell overhead jingled when she opened the door, and a ray of bright sunlight warmed the side of her face as she turned to address him one last time.

"So, about that tattoo…"

Kouga followed her almost to the door, and leaned on the counter, clearly intrigued. "Yes?"

"Maybe for the sake of...moving slow, you get some ink first."

"At your hand, I will submit to any idea your marvelous brain concocts."

"I'll keep that in mind. And for myself...maybe a piercing."

"I would never dictate what you do with that beautiful body," he crooned, hoping to further distract her. 

"That's good to know," Kagome said, bringing a finger to her chin. "It'll be that easier to surprise you…"

"Why would a piercing surprise me…" Realization dawned on Kouga's face like a light in a dark room. His eyes widened, his jaw fell slack, and the sight alone sent Kagome blushing. "Wait, are you-"

"Leaving for work? Yup." Kagome smiled as Kouga tripped over his words and stumbled around the cash register to follow her.

"Do you mean...are you talking about-" 

"See you tonight…" she sang, the bell over the door announcing her departure. Their game of trying to rile one another up was fun, and Kagome was glad to finally have the upper hand. Kouga could usually do so with just a word or a look, and now that she was no longer feigning disinterest, she found herself blushing and stuttering more. 

Her short walk came to an end at the doors of Feudal Ink, but instead of the quiet that usually greeted her first thing in the morning, the shop was buzzing with life. 

Once inside, Kagome had to maneuver around a cacophony of people filling the lobby and even the workstations. Hers and Sango's seemed to be mysteriously empty of people, but every other square inch of the shop was filled. Even on their busiest days, she'd never seen so many people in the shop. The chatter in the area was thick and heavy, and Kagome felt it press in on her from all sides.

Weaving her way back to Sango's office, Kagome scanned the crowd again and realized what every person in the shop had in common: they were all women. In every size and shape, race and ethnicity, they milled about, chatting with one another, inspecting the glass display cases and looking over the art on the walls. Kagome couldn't imagine why the shop was filled with women, and once she reached Sango's office, she knocked before entering.

"Sango! What is going on?" she asked, closing the door behind her and dropping her back on the nearest chair. Like her workstation, Sango's office was immaculately clean, and even the stack of papers on her desk were perfectly aligned.

"What do you mean?" Sango asked, leaning back in her chair and grinning deviously. Like Kagome, she dressed for the warm weather, in a black crop top, revealing her full sleeves and some of her diaphragm tattoos. 

Kagome gestured to the door, and remained standing. "There are a bunch of women out there. Did Davis set this up?"

"No." Sango tapped her nails on the surface of her desk, to a tune that Kagome couldn't name. It was a tactic her friend used when she was either trying to intimidate someone, or when she had something up her sleeve. Kagome couldn't figure out which applied. 

"I bet it was Gene. He's so slimy; what'd he do? Offer a discount tattoo to every girl who sits on his lap?" Kagome remembered the last promotion the guys came up with. They pitched the idea to her before bringing it up to Sango, and it was good that they did. Sango would never have allowed anyone to do body shots in the shop just for 15% off of a tattoo.

"I don't think any of them are that gullible," Sango said, gesturing to the chair Kagome tried to ignore. She took a seat, figuring that if Sango wasn't panicking, she probably shouldn't either. "Plus, they could probably tattoo Gene under a table."

Kagome blinked. "They're all artists?"

"Every single one." Sango managed to grin wider, her pierced cheeks rising toward her eyes.

"Where are the boys?" Kagome asked, not that she missed them.

Sango shrugged,looking bored at the mention of them. "Hell if I know; they don't work for me anymore."

"What?!" Kagome stared at her friend and boss, wide-eyed. "You-"

"Fired them. Yeah…" Sango said nonchalantly, clicking her long nails together. 

" _ Everyone _ ?" Kagome pleaded. Not that she was sorry to see any of them leave. Even the few that were decent artists were either rude, sexist or lazy. Still, there was a business to run, clients to see and appointments to book, a large undertaking for two tattoo artists, one of whom was still learning. "Sango, that's  _ insane _ !"

"My name is on the lease, so insanity is allowed." Sango stood, only to sit on the edge of her desk, crossing one long leg over the other. Kagome pushed down the initial jealousy at her friend's height, and remembered Kouga holding her thighs around his waist as her ankles locked behind his back. He didn't seem to mind their length, and complemented their width more than once. At some point the day before, he'd managed a new maneuver, positioning himself behind her and anchoring himself with one leg. She would have to ask if he could demonstrate the move again after their date.

Sango's voice pulled her back out of her daydream."You don't think I knew what was going on? All those gross, and frankly unoriginal names they called me, and probably you too?"

It was Kagome's turn to shrug. "I just thought you had thick skin...or I was being too sensitive."

"I  _ do _ have thick skin, no pun intended. That doesn't mean that I have to sit by and take it. And neither do you." The tip of Sango's nail stabbed Kagome on the shoulder and she winced before speaking.

"So, what happens now? What about our clients?"

"I've contacted everyone and told them we're rearranging the shop. Today, we conduct interviews and see who fits. Tomorrow, we get back to being badass." Sango stood and held her hand out to Kagome, who took it and stood. Kagome took her hand and felt a surge of pride and respect she hadn't felt in months. 

"I know you didn't do this for me, but...thank you." She wasn't expecting Sango's gaze to soften: she liked to hold on to her tough exterior, but Kagome was one of the few people who could see past it. 

"It's been in the works for a while now, but your community fair was a big push."

"Really? Why?" For all the hard work she put into her community fair, Kagome was glad to see that it had lasting results. 

Sango huffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, those big doe eyes might work in the sheets, but not here. Kouga told me what those dickrags said, so I moved up my restructuring a little bit." Sango's smile was so devious, Kagome thought about telling her not to do that in front of their applicants, lest they all run for the door. 

"He told you?" Kagome was actively trying to forget the mean comments her former workmates made about her and Sango, and she almost forgot that she told Kouga. 

"Yeah. And since I don't want you visiting your new boy-toy in prison, I figure I should take care of them before he does." 

"Okay, but…' _ boy-toy' _ ?"

Sango looked to her friend, clearly exhausted with their game. "Yeah, enough tattoo shop talk. How was the date?"

Kagome sighed and Sango merely shook her head. "It was awesome. He got us tickets to Chef Week."

"Jealous," Sango told her. "So is he having trouble getting all that Sephora off his pillowcase?"

" _ My _ pillowcase," she corrected. 

"Oh, Kagome took a man home. Well done," she told her, impressed. 

Thinking back to the seriousness in Kouga's voice when he mentioned moving in together, Kagome thought about her words. "It was just one date."

"Breakfast the next day counts as a date."

"...two dates…"

"D'jeet breakfast this morning?"

"...three dates…"

Sango smiled wide again. "That's my girl. Next you're gonna tell me he's seen all of your ink."

Kagome stepped back and gestured to her outfit for the day. She usually kept covered to avoid anyone seeing her tattoos, but after Kouga's positive reaction, she felt less timid about showing them off. Still,a thumb flew to her mouth and she fought the urge to bite down on it.

"You showed him  _ all _ of them?!" 

"Well, I lost power on Sunday, and then yesterday, when you called…the sun came out...and, you know...it's hard to hide them in broad daylight."

"And all four dermals."

"He _insisted_."

"Oh honey, he's got it bad."

"I didn't hear any complaints."

"Look at you; get one or two good lays and your mind is as filthy as mine.

" _ Five _ . And I think he might have asked me to move in with him."

"Okay, let's get these interviews over with so you can give me every detail…"

* * *

"I'm gonna go with...Number Seven."

"Do you realize you've picked some of the youngest applicants?"

Kagome shrugged. She had a few years on even the youngest artist who came for an interview that day, and most were smart and willing to learn. "I hadn't really noticed." Sango clearly wanted a more seasoned team, and the two agreed that a mix of experienced and new artists would serve them best. Each applicant offered a small portfolio of work and a photo of themselves, all of which were scattered on the top of the shop's glass display case. Names were hard to remember after meeting so many people, leaving Sango and Kagome to decide on their choices. "What about Number Eight?"

Sango flipped the pages back, looking at their small sampling of art closely. "Very creative...line work is really good. And a nice grasp of color theory. I say yes."

"Me too."

"You just want another black and grey artist…"

"I can't take all the black and grey clients, and I do really like their style," Kagome commented, +remembering to use the correct pronoun. 

"Cute name too," Sango added, flipping back to the front page. Taking in the bright red hair, wide eyes and glasses, Sango handed the stapled papers to Kagome. "_Suk_i...think it's a nickname?"

"We could always ask-" a tapping on the glass portion of the door of the shop interrupted her, and turned their attention to the door. Kagome nearly skipped to the door, unlatching each lock and opened the door, beaming. Shyness pushed aside, Kagome wrapped her arms around Kouga's neck and brought him down to her in a gleeful kiss. She didn't realize she did it, until she began to pull away, still grinning. Never one for PDA, Kagome stepped back from Kouga, a hand covering her face. Some embarrassment seeped away when his arm snaked its way around her waist and pulled her closer. A grin that Kagome could only describe as "wolfish" spread across his face, and she looked away to keep herself from attacking him again.

"Look at you two…" Sango clucked, her dark lips parting in a smile. "So sweet you're gonna give me a cavity…"

Kouga ignored the sarcastic tone of the comment, knowing that Sango was genuinely happy for them both. Considering he'd called her before their date to make sure of any allergies or forbidden topics of conversation, he was very aware of the support for the couple. "You ready to go?" he asked after a beat. 

Kagome looked to Sango, who answered quickly. "I'm about to lock up. Unless of course, you wanna try out the chair…"

Kagome reddened and shook her head. "Maybe some other time…" she answered, before scooping the resumes from the glass display case and turning back to Kouga. "I'll be right back."

In Sango's office, she arranged the resumes on her desk into the piles of candidates they were considering and made sure that she left the room in pristine condition. Turning off the lights in the office and the now empty booths, Kagome felt a surge of excitement about the future of the shop. She could come to work without facing the unrelenting scrutiny of her coworkers, and wouldn't have to lean on Sango so much for support. With less pressure, she could offer ideas and improve in her technique, making her a better artist. 

As she approached Sango and Kouga, they both stopped talking suddenly, and Kouga seemed to be hiding something behind his back. Staring at them both suspiciously, she gave up when they refused to speak, and a few moments later the three of them exited the building.Sango paused to lock and bolt the doors behind her, and said her goodbyes. Since Kagome hadn't driven to work,and had only an overnight bag from home, it was understood that she'd be going home with Kouga, and the two began walking down the street together. She wanted to question him about the plastic bag he was still trying to conceal from her, but Kouga dominated most of the conversation by explaining to her why excessively tall centerpieces were a waste of money. By the time she had an opportunity to ask, they were inside his modest home, and he was offering her his bedroom to change.

While not their first night together, Kagome was still thankful for the chance to go about her nightly routine without an audience. She cleared her face of all makeup with a packet of wipes she brought with her, and applied a moisturizer that, while deliciously scented and effective against the acne of her youth, made her look a little too shiny for her liking. She usually liked for Kouga to see her a bit made up (save for the morning after their date), and comparing her leg-baring dress to her current pajamas was not helping. Having thrown together an overnight bag without much thought of the night in question, led to an odd amalgam of things in her bag. In retrospect, she could have slept in the oversized sweatshirt and leggings that she also brought with her, but the night was already warm, and peeling off sticky leggings in the middle of the night didn't sound like fun. Her current attire was almost the exact opposite; a powder blue camisole and shorts, with lace accenting the low neckline and hem. The shorts were barely long enough to earn the name, with the same trim only offering a little more coverage. Kagome had them hidden away under her pile of clothes for years, but it was always easier for her to throw on an oversized t-shirt, especially when sleeping alone. She thought maybe Kouga deserved a bit more than a ratty old shirt.

Leaving the bedroom, Kagome noticed that Kouga was already seated on the couch, leaned against one of the armrests, but leaving enough room for her. Dropping her bag by the couch, he looked up to find her standing over him, and Kagome blushed under his appraisal. His gaze dragged the length of her body, and Kagome took a seat next to him, instead of retreating from the room, as was her first instinct. She had no objections to him looking at her, but a small part of her wondered if he was looking with fascination, admiration or some mixture of both. 

Before she could get settled in her spot, Kouga slid a hand around her back and moved her over until she was seated on his lap. One hand pressed her thighs together, and the other came to rest on her shoulder, cradling her against him. 

"Are you hungry?" Kouga asked, gently rocking her. "I could order something."

Kagome nodded and pulled back to look Kouga in the eye. She still wanted to press him about his suspicious behavior, but wasn't sure if she'd earned that right. On one hand, they'd only been "together" (though the exact word for it escaped her) for the stretch of a few days, and maybe prying into Kouga's business was injecting herself into his life too quickly. On the other hand, he outright asked her to move in with him. Questioning where the appropriate line in the sand was, she merely stared at him, unknowingly making him nervous in the process. 

"Kagome? Are you okay? You look...upset."

She blinked, hoping that it broke some of the tension from her face. "No, just...I need to tell you something." Under her, Kouga shifted to sit up a little straighter. "It's okay...if you want Sango to give you a tattoo." 

Kouga looked her square in the eye and the two sat motionless for a moment. Kagome raised her eyebrows, hoping to convey that the statement was not made as an accusation.

"What makes you think-"

"Because you guys were talking, and then you  _ stopped _ talking, and the only thing that I could think of was that you want to get inked, which I support wholeheartedly, but you want Sango to do it because she has more experience and her technique is better." Kagome explained. Where normally her chest would constrict at the thought of someone, especially Kouga, passing her up for Sango, she felt strangely at peace. She was a good artist. Her friend was a better artist. With enough time and training, perhaps one day she would be as good, but she wasn't yet. Why that realization used to bother her, she was not sure. 

"Kagome", Kouga shifted again, palming her sides so that they were almost aligned, taking a deep breath and speaking. "I don't want Sango to give me a tattoo." 

"Why not?"

"Becaus-"

"She'll give you a fair price, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm not-"

"And she actually went to Japan while studying Japanese techniques, so her handiwork is legit."

"I'm sure she's very tal-"

"And don't worry about me, I am confident in the skills that I already possess, and those which I have yet to learn-"

"Kagome!" Kouga said. He neither shouted nor yelled, but the sternness in his voice, com lined with the grip on her upper arms, stopped Kagome from speaking. She looked at him again, taking in the grey t-shirt stretched over his chest, the curve of his muscular arms leading up to his neck, and the stubble collecting at his jaw. He'd effectively shut her up and turned her on at the same time. "I want  _ you _ to tattoo me."

Blinking again, Kagome furrowed her brow. "Me?"

"Yes," Kouga laughed, his face beginning to soften. "When you're ready, and when we find a design that works, yes. I don't want anyone else touching my skin."

" _ Oh _ ." Kagome moved her hips in an attempt to relieve some tension there, but also, because she didn't know what to say next. 

"Though I'm sure Sango would be happy to know that you're so generous with your praise of her work."

"Well, what was I supposed to think? With you two, laughing and talking like that?"

"Maybe it was just two friends sharing a joke?" "Or one friend congratulating another friend for finally getting his head out of the ground to ask out his crush?"

"Yeah, maybe…" Kagome said, sheepishly. 

"Or...maybe one of us was getting a take-home temporary tattoo, so that the size and placement of any future ink would not be so much of a shock, according to the other one of us."

Kagome nodded. It wasn't uncommon for Sango to give first timers a temp to take home if they were unsure of the location or size of a desired tattoo. Some also requested them on the off chance that a tattoo would somehow conflict with a dress code or uniform. Her suggesting one to Kouga wasn't so much of a stretch when she thought about it. 

"That makes sense," she finally offered. 

"Or  _ maybe _ ," Kouga continued, looking down to the lacy edge of her camisole, and moving his hand over the soft fabric. " _ One _ friend was complimenting the handiwork of  _ another _ friend in the form of two very lovely little crescent moons…"

"Is that so?"

"You don't believe me?" he asked, pinching the nub in question. As a result, Kagome hissed and jerked against him, and tried to keep her eyes from rolling back in her head. Kouga's hand was firm at her hip, keeping her steady in his lap. "I'm sure I can convince you."

In one swift motion, Kouga reached behind her, sweeping the soft fabric over her head to gather in front of her. Using the bunched up top as leverage, Kouga pulled Kagome forward, trapping her arms between them as they kissed. She initially reacted with some shock; their past encounters were gentle and even lazy, taking their time undressing one another. The force with which he removed her top, and kept her pinned against him was new to her, but not unwelcome. 

While maintaining the kiss, Kagome pulled against him, fighting the hand at the back of her neck. She forgot that for all his chiseled muscles, he was obviously very strong, and submitting was tempting, but not nearly as fun. Relaxing against his body, Kagome shut her eyes and whimpered as Kouga delved deeper into their kiss. The slack on the front of her shirt fell, and she waited a moment before using it against him.

"Good girl," he said, against her lips.

Forcing her hands apart, Kagome broke free of his hold,and couldn't tell what shocked him more: the force that she used to free herself, or the fact that she was now completely topless before him. She reared up, supporting herself on her knees, before lowering her body slowly. 

"You forgot," she began, moving her hands down his covered chest until she found the bottom hem. "I stab crying grown men with needles, and have to hold  _ them _ down." 

Bringing her closer, Kouga brushed both hands over her nipples and wrapped them around her bare back. "I will never underestimate your strength again…" His hands moved up into her bound hair, and removed the tie, letting it fall in waves over her shoulders and back. 

"Good," Kagome said, trying to inject some of the baritone Kouga had in his voice. She moved her hands from his firm stomach to his arm, leaning her weight on him to keep him still. "Now...I think it's time I see your ink…"

Sliding her hands between his skin and his shirt, Kagome watched the fabric bunch and reveal his body underneath. The tanned expanse of his chest and torso was not new; she'd woken up to it two out of the last three nights. But everything, from the ridges of his abs to the trail of dark hair disappearing into his sweatpants was always enough to render her speechless. Preoccupied with the sight before her, Kagome let Kouga help her remove the shirt, before she tossed it behind him. 

Before Kagome realized what she was doing, she ran a hand over Kouga's solid pectoral, and the ink that was there. It was telltale for Sango's temporary tattoos; the ink wasn't as pigmented, and she could tell that he rushed and didn't keep a cold compress over the paper as long as he should have. The picture, however, was relatively clear: a cluster of wilting sunflowers surrounding a clock. The image was confusing for her; she knew what probably drew him to the picture, but the placement was off. 

Looking up at him, she knew the time was not right for scrutiny. She had her fair share of tattoos with wobbly lines, done by artists that she barely knew. Even Kouga's untrained eye didn't dissect them, and in her trepidation to reveal them to him, he never reacted with anything but understanding. His eyes held a questioning look, and instead of addressing him, Kagome bent forward, leaving a kiss over the muscle, as he did over the lily on her side. 

His skin was hot under her lips, and one kiss led to another, and another, until she felt the downfall soft hair of his toned stomach on her chin. He was hesitant to let her slide from his grasp, but as she pulled against him, he figured out her path and let her move down to kneel between his knees. The hand at her back landed at the nape of her neck and Kouga applied just enough pressure, leaving the choice of her next action entirely up to her. 

Kagome found her hands nervously fidgeting over his clothed thighs, and behind the curtain of her hair, she bit her lip. Before her mind could venture too far and scare her from her destination, Kagome moved her hand to the space between his torso and pants, wrapping a hand around his cock.

Without meaning to, her jaw fell open. Though not her first encounter, Kagome had yet to come face to face with Kouga's dick. While he'd taken the elevator down once already (and left her a babbling mess afterward), her nervousness always got the best of her before she could make anything happen. Caution how thrown to the wind, Kagome had to muster what modicum of courage she had left to do something. Anything. 

Sensing her delay, Kouga angled her head up to look at him, letting her know that it, whatever she wanted it to be, was okay. It was a look of total respect, calm and love. 

Fear aside, Kagome swallowed a gulp of air and wrapped both hands around Kouga's length, before sliding her lips over the tip. Kagome tried not to linger in thought at the last word that crossed her mind, instead focusing, literally, on the task at hand. She moaned as the taste of him filling her mouth, the groan coming from him spurring her on. Kouga entwined his fingers in her dark hair and gently thrust his length into her mouth. The gentle pull of his fingers in her hair made Kagome to moan in response, and Kouga shuddered as his erection jolted inside her mouth. Her eyes falling shut, Kagome slowly began to pump her lips up and down his length, pressing her tongue firmly up against his shaft. With her eyes closed, some of her nervousness melted away, leaving her ample room to appreciate the soft tufts of hair at her wrists. The rhythm made Kagome rub her thighs together, heat pooling there as she felt him grow larger between her lips. 

"_Nngghh...Kagome_…" she heard over her, the restraint in his voice beginning to slip.

The grip at her neck grew firm, and as much as she wanted to, Kagome felt the desire building that she could not satiate there on her knees. Knowing she was slowing down and would have to finish soon, she echoed another moan, satisfied with the audible reaction it produced from Kouga, even though she was still too nervous to look up at him. 

Releasing him with a pop, Kagome was prepared to ask for a review of her performance, as she wiped the corners of her mouth with her thumb. One hand remained in place, moving up and down his shaft. The half-lidded look on her face remained even as he pulled her back onto his lap and swept into her mouth in an instant. Kagome moved to keep up with him, adjusting herself to straddle his lap. Feeling the hard length against the inside of her thighs made her clench and moan against his mouth. His hands were everywhere, smoothing the lines of her back, caressing the softness of her stomach. When his nail clicked against the piercing at her nipple, she arched back and whined at the warm tongue that followed. Kagome cried as she pressed against Kouga, one hand working to free his ponytail, and the other knotting her hand in his hair to anchor him at her breast. 

Initially, Kouga felt bad about getting a little rough with Kagome. Earlier that day, he'd asked her to move in with him, and he thought that maybe he'd taken a few steps back in taking their lovemaking down such a sharp path. Her reaction erased any doubt from his mind; she moved in tandem with him, instead of resisting, pushing and pulling as needed. When she slid down his body, he could feel the nervousness in her washing against him like a wave. He wanted to do so much more…most of all reach down and cradle her jaw in his hand. To say he hadn't fantasized about Kagome on her knees in front of him would be a lie. But, her offerings, though halted by her uneasiness, were more than appreciated, tightening the coil inside of him. 

Once she was back in his lap, Kouga maintained a steady rhythm of mannerisms both loving and rough. His hands passed over her soft breasts lightly enough to make her sigh, but the pinch of the pink tips left her gasping. He lapped at her neck, tasting the salty sweet skin there, but bit down on the thin skin right above her collarbone. And when she reared up to let him remove her tiny shorts, Kouga caressed the smooth rounded form of her backside, before bringing his open palm down hard, and leaving the flesh bright red. The moan that resulted sent an otherwise unknown chill down his back, and he wasn't sure if he repeated the move for his benefit or hers.

As Kagome descended, Kouga positioned his cock to meet with her slick opening, pleased but not surprised to find it wet and waiting for him. He nudged at her slick entrance with his tip, already addicted to the feeling of her stretching to accommodate him, before slamming into her, causing Kagome to arch her back and cry out. The sight of her bowed back, pink-tipped hair brushing against the hands anchored at her hips, made Kouga thrust up against her harder. A deep growl was ripped from his throat at the lush tightness of her, but it was nothing compared to Kagome's breathy whimpers. Kouga closed his eyes and rolled his hips, relishing the sensation. Sitting up further, he allowed Kagome's firm body to lean back even more, angling them and penetrating her even deeper. Joining her in panting, Kouga opened his eyes and looked down the line of his body to where he was joined with Kagome. The ink of her tattoos stood out in stark contrast against her beautiful skin, beaded with perspiration and flushed pink from their movements. He gripped her hips, moved her over him and back and rammed himself back in, repeating the motion as she wailed above him. 

But as much as the feel of her slick walls nearly drove him over the edge, Kouga knew he needed more. One hand released Kagome's hip and palmed her back until he reached her scalp. His forearm rested against the left of her back, pulling at her hair and angling her head so that she looked him in the eye. The nervousness that clouded her eyes was gone, replaced by pleasure that left her eyelids fluttering. Kouga passed his hand over the dermals at her back and grinned at the hitch in her breath. 

Kouga's nails raked over her scalp before he spoke. "Mine?" 

It was more statement than question, but he made it clear that some response was expected. Their hips collided again, and this time, Kouga slowly withdrew, reminding Kagome who was in control, even as she pulled against him.

Kagome moaned at his reduced pace, hoping that would suffice. Kouga thrust back into her, but the drag was slow and torturous, and the hand at his bicep gripped him as hard as she could.

" _ Mine _ ," he repeated, bringing her body back down against his and grinding. When another whine was all that he extracted from her, Kouga moved a hand between them and swiped the pad of his thumb back and forth over the bundle of nerves there. 

Her response was a keening cry of "Yes!" stuttered into his shoulder. Finally satisfied, Kouga resumed his rocking, gradually speeding up until he was shifting Kagome frantically over him. 

Releasing his arms, Kagome wrapped hers around Kouga's neck, supporting her upper body on top of his. Both of his hands stayed in place, one guiding her hips to mold over him and the other plucking at her sensitive nub. The spring of pleasure in her belly was cooked so tight that when she finally came, it was so strong it actually took her breath away. Kagome tumbled over, softly chanting his name out over and over as she convulsed on top of him.

Kouga watched in awe as she became undone at his ministrations. Kagome's release was so achingly beautiful, and before he knew it, he'd tightened the hold of her legs around his hips, stood and began down the darkened hallway to his bedroom. Her weight on his chest and arms barely registered as he tied about the room and let them both fall gently to the bed, and he reluctantly removed himself from her plush softness. Kagome's knees fell apart lazily, and her chest shuttered with the shallow breaths she finally had the energy to take. The early evening light set the room in a glow of burnt orange, casting deep blue shadows against the walls and floor. 

Kouga looked down at the woman before him, and though the stirring in his loins inclined him to move and find his own climax, he paused to look closely at her. He had yet to find a situation in which she was not absolutely stunning. Kouga recounted the past few days of watching her work, going about her daily activities, interacting with others and himself, and wondered why he was so hesitant to tell her how deeply in love with her he was. She was right, they'd only been on one date, and the afterglow of a new relationship still had time to fade. But, with each passing day, she only endeared herself to him more, and he felt his chest somehow swell and constrict over his feelings for her. 

She was exhausted from a long day on her feet and from the pleasure he gave her, but his need pressed in on him from all sides. Despite her exhaustion, Kagome responded when she curved his body over hers in a long, drugging kiss. Her supple thighs were warm to the touch and already parted, making the glide of his erect member into her that much better, her narrow walls surrounding him.

A chill swept down Kagome's body, and she opened her eyes quickly to find Kouga sitting up, their bodies intimately connected. Sweat glistened at his brow and temples, making his hair stick to parts of his face and neck. His eyes were still soft, but everything else about his demeanor was focused and determined. He looked like a hunter poised to strike, fierce and powerful in his silence. With little warning, save for a wicked grin, Kouga heaved against her. Kagome's response was immediate; the back of her head digging into the pillow under her, causing her neck and back to arch in a resounding cry that she tried to cover with her hand. His lush fullness was replaced with a driving force that shocked her, threatening to push her over the edge faster than she expected. If she were at all able, Kagome would have pressed her thighs together in an effort to stave the oncoming quake. 

Kouga must have sensed the direction of her hand in covering her mouth, and before she knew it, Kagome's palm was pressed low against her belly, her fingertips brushing up against their shared mass of dark curls. Kouga withdrew slowly, and Kagome felt the hardness of him under the pads of her fingers, hot and wet from her. The sinking of her palm and stomach as he withdrew, and the rise of her stomach and hand when he thrust back into her was shocking to feel and she looked between them with wide eyes. Kagome could appreciate every move Kouga made, his various techniques and positions for taking and giving pleasure. But something else guided his gentle movements, and the word she tried to push away came back with force.

Did he  _ love _ her?

Even as he moved so lovingly over her, squeezing her thighs gently as he pressed them back against the bed, she could not deny that she certainly  _ felt _ loved.

But he  _ couldn't _ . He showered her with attention and flowers, but that wasn't exactly love. They talked and laughed like old friends for hours, but that didn't mean he loved her. His support was unwavering and every interaction between them seemed to end too soon for her liking, but he couldn't possibly be in love with her.

But,  _ she _ loved  _ him _ .

The realization bloomed in her chest and she found it as blissful as his movements over her. Giving herself in, Kagome felt every thrust and drag, gratified with the understanding of her feelings. In return, she tilted her hips up, smiling when Kouga briefly paused to draw in a shaky breath, before he resumed the motion of his hips, pounding into her with such force that Kagome felt her teeth chattering. 

"-_so perfect...so beautiful_-" Kouga groaned, wildly shifting against her as Kagome climaxed agaiKago knowing he was close.

Feeling the convulsing of her tight walls, Kouga howled before he let out a low groan as he surrendered to his orgasm, and collapsed over her. A few moments later he slid out of her, eliciting moans from them both, and grabbed a corner of his sheet. Wiping gently at her thighs until he was satisfied, Kouga pulled her to him to lay over his body. Her head was nestled over his heartbeat, in a space that over the past few days became her "spot". Kagome wrapped her arms around his chest and felt his hand settle at the small of her back. Sleep was approaching swiftly, but she had one thing more to address before she dozed off.

"Hey Kouga?"she asked sleepily, hoping he hadn't fallen asleep already.

"Yeah?"

"Does your offer still stand?" Kagome asked quietly. If it didn't, she hoped she could avert any further humiliation by quickly gathering her clothes from the living room, dressing hastily in the hallway, and running home before Kouga could catch her.

"To move in with me?" he questioned, moving his head to look down at her. The lighting in the room had faded to near darkness, and the strong lines of his jaw and sharp angle of his nose were the first things Kagome could see clearly as her eyes adjusted. "Absolutely. Whenever you're ready. "

"I'm ready," Kagome offered, squeezing her eyes shut again at the possibility of rejection. When she felt Kouga cup her jaw to capture her lips in a deep and very convincing kiss, Kagome felt her entire body relax. He pulled away moments later, and despite the darkness of the room, she could feel him smiling. "There's something you should know before I move in with you."

Kouga laughed and managed to pull her closer. "What, that you snore? I already know, and it's adorable."

"No, it's that...that I think I'm falling in love with you."

The hand that was rubbing circles into her back paused, and Kagome prepared herself for flight. She asked herself why she didn't just wait to tell him. At least until after she actually moved in, or once they started discussing possible design ideas. Then she would have had something a little more permanent on which to base her feelings. 

She was distracted from her lamenting when Kouga chuckled and spread his hand across her back, fingering the dermals at her back again. The motion brought her more comfort than she realized. 

Kouga pressed a kiss to the top of her damp forehead. "I honestly hadn't noticed."

"I can be very subtle when I want to," she joked, the tension leaving her body in an instant.

"Obviously. But I was pretty distracted myself, falling in love with you, and everything."

Kagome stopped and sat up. Her hair fell in sticky tufts over her shoulder, and her arms and chest suddenly felt cold. She wasn't sure if it was from the sweet clinging to her body, or Kouga's confession. He  _ loved _ her. She choked out a laugh before speaking again. 

"You  _ were _ ?"

"Of course. You think I'd let someone stab me repeatedly with a needle if I wasn't madly in love with them?"

Despite his joking, Kagome knew he was serious. Every look they shared solidified it, and she fell back into his embrace, glad to have been wrong. "I guess not."

"So we both win? You get to ink my virgin skin, and I get to have you forever," Kouga offered, running his thumb over the lily at her side. 

Kagome felt sleep tug at her eyelids again, and noticed that she gave into it with more ease than she had in a long time. "Looks that way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there she is! I can't tell you guys how much I've enjoyed this! It's been a lot of firsts for me, but I had a great time in this fandom, and I can't wait to post more work for you to enjoy!
> 
> This entire story is 100% dedicated to the amazing peeps over on the KagKog Discord Server, because without them, this would still be a little baby oneshot! I am daily stunned by the talents of my fellow authors and artists, and you've all earned an eternal place in my heart as well as my utmost respect. Also, you're a bunch of filthy monster lovers and I love ya.


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